Understanding My Heart
by FairyTailSabina
Summary: Everyone in Fairy Tail can see it. Their favorite pink-haired dragonslayer is in love with their lovely celestial spirit mage. The only problem is they can't convince Lucy to accept the truth, and Natsu doesn't understand his own feelings. Can the guild help these two young and inexperienced mages to admit their true feelings? NaLu fanfic, other pairings hinted. Future LEMONS! ;)
1. Chapter 1

**Understanding My Heart**

**Hi everyone! Well this is going to be my first fanfic... I really tried to make it sound very mature and well written... I probably should have spent more time planning this our rather than just making it up on the go, but I was feeling lazy...**

**This fanfic is going to be about my OTP, Natsu and Lucy... I think that they are just adorable together and that they really compliment each other. I'm starting it off pretty light but I assure you that it will get progressively more lemony as I continue to write it ;)**

**Well here goes nothing! Here's my first attempt at a fanfic! Reviews are welcome and encouraged!**

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><p><span>Chapter 1<span>

"Ohhh it's so good to be back!" said Lucy Heartfilia, Fairy Tail's blonde Celestial Spirit mage. She and the rest of Team Natsu had just entered the boisterous guild hall after a week away on a mission. They were tired and hungry, but happy as the mission had gone very well.

"I'm starving… Mira! Please tell me that you have food leftover from lunch!" shouted Natsu Dragneel, his stomach rumbling loud enough for his teammates to hear and laugh. He was always ravenous after returning from missions.

"Of course I do," said Mirajane Strauss, smiling sweetly at the group. "I knew you all would be back today so I saved enough for all of you."

"Mira you're amazing," said Gray Fullbuster, his own stomach growling almost as loudly as Natsu's. He was of course half naked, his shirt lying forgotten by the guild's front doors. Everyone in the guild was of course used to his stripping habit by now, he had been doing it for years, but some of the women still giggled and eyed him with varying degrees of interest. Juvia Lockser, the guild's resident water mage and expert Gray stalker, was peeking around a pillar at him. Her eyes were glued to the ice mage's muscular form, a thin stream of drool threatening to drip from her lips.

"I assume the mission went well from the looks on your faces," said Mira as she busied herself with bringing them their meals as they sat at an empty table. Lucy nodded happily, and Erza Scarlett simply crossed her arms and smiled.

"We actually managed not to destroy anything!" she said excitedly. Her eyes flicked to her pink haired teammate who was already digging into his food with gusto. "Well, I suppose I should say that Natsu managed not to destroy anything," she added, while the others laughed at her comment. Natsu was well known in the magic community as a force of mass destruction. He had personally wrecked at least two buildings in almost every town in Fiore, and the guild had lost track of how much all the damage he had caused over the years added up to.

"Mmpf mmmmm," grumbled Natsu, his mouth full of food. He glared at Lucy for a few seconds then returned to his food, seemingly over her jibe already. Lucy just smiled and dug into her own food, not noticing the second sadder glance that he gave her. Lucy may have missed his glance but a few other mages didn't. Erza saw and smiled a little. She could see that the dragonslayer was actually a little hurt by what Lucy had said, and she suspected that there was a reason for that. If anyone else in the guild had made a comment like that Natsu would have laughed it off or started a fight, but the blonde girl had a certain something about her that caused him to react differently.

"Natsu-nii!" said another mage who had seen the sad look that Natsu had given Lucy. It was Romeo Conbolt, one of the younger members of the guild and a fire-wielding mage like Natsu. Ever since he was little Romeo had idolized Natsu, viewing him as an older brother, and he had been devastated when the Tenrou Team had disappeared for seven long years. Now the young mage spent all the time he could with Natsu and his team, wanting to learn from them and become stronger.

"Oh, hey Romeo," said Natsu, swallowing the huge mouthful of food that he had been chewing. He ruffled the boy's dark hair and smiled warmly at him. "How was your mission with Wendy?" he asked, and Romeo blushed a little.

"It went really well," said the boy. He shuffled his feet a little and glanced across the room at the girl in question, Wendy Marvel. The Sky Dragonslayer was in the middle of having a conversation with Gajeel Redfox and Fairy Tail's three exceeds. Upon arriving at the guild, Natsu's own exceed friend Happy had flown over to the two dragonslayers and attempted to present Carla with a fish that he had bought for her. It seemed as if his persistence was paying off as she only ignored him for a few minutes before nonchalantly accepting the fish, causing Happy to jump about in delight. Romeo shook his head and cleared his throat, obviously tearing himself from some daydream he had been having. "Anyway, I was wondering if you could train with me this afternoon if you're not too tired from your mission," he said, trying to ignore the giggling of Lucy and Erza as they saw his eyes continuing to flick back to the blue haired girl.

Natsu finished taking another monstrous bite from his steak before answering. "Sure, just let me finish eating," he said, and Romeo grinned excitedly.

"I've been working on a new type of fire I wanted to show you, so come get me when you're finished!" said the boy, and he ran off to speak to his father.

"Romeo has really made good progress with his magic hasn't he?" said Erza, watching the boy talking animatedly with his father. "It doesn't seem like too long ago when he was just a little kid who complained about his father being a mage." The rest of the group nodded.

"Its nice to see that he's really embraced his magic and is learning how to control it," said Lucy, taking a sip of her strawberry milkshake. "Fire is a dangerous element, and he's obviously trying his hardest to make sure that he doesn't cause too much damage with it. Unlike someone we know…." she grinned, playfully teasing her best friend again. He scowled and finished his flaming drink before standing abruptly.

"Thanks for the food Mira," said Natsu, his voice flat and quiet. Lucy looked at him with a puzzled expression on her face.

"You didn't finish your food," she said, concern in her voice. Natsu refused to look at her.

"I lost my appetite," he said as he walked away, heading for where Romeo and his father were talking. Lucy watched him go, the confused look still on her face. Mirajane saw Lucy staring after Natsu, a knowing twinkle in her eyes.

"Did I say something wrong?" asked Lucy. Her teammates gave each other exasperated looks and shook their heads.

"You really don't know how much the things you say affect him do you?" said Gray, his palm on his face. Lucy cocked her head to the side, obviously not understanding. "Honestly, you can be as dense as he is sometimes," laughed Gray, and Lucy glared at him.

"Excuse me but I am not as dense as Natsu," she snapped. Across the room they could see the pink haired mage and Romeo gathering their things and walking to the front door, heading out to start their afternoon training. Lucy's head snapped back to her teammates as she heard Erza chuckle.

"Gray has a point Lucy," the red haired woman said kindly. "Natsu values your opinion, and when you tease him he really takes it to heart. You're a very important person to him, and not just as a teammate, so whenever you seem to be criticizing him, it hits him hard." Lucy looked at the armored mage, the confused look returning to her face.

"I'm important to Natsu?" she said, a skeptic tone in her voice. "I mean I know he values me as a teammate, but I don't think that he really thinks about me as anything more than that," she continued. She folded her arms and leaned back in her seat, staring up at the ceiling. "I mean, he's basically an oversized child, I doubt that he thinks about anything other than fighting and food."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," interjected Mira. She, like the others, had known Natsu far longer than Lucy had and she could see that the blonde mage had been working slow but steady changes on the fire dragonslayer. "I personally think that Natsu has feelings for you!" she added happily, making Lucy blush and stutter.

"N-no way! This is Natsu we're talking about!" said the furiously blushing blonde. Mira noted her red face and smiled even more. "There's no way that he could think of me like that…" Lucy looked down at her lap and the others grinned at each other. They could see that Lucy had obviously thought about this before.

"You never know Lucy," said Gray, winking at her. Somewhere from behind a nearby pillar someone could be heard muttering, "What is my beloved doing winking at that blonde temptress?" The group took no notice however as they were focused on their conversation. "Natsu is a man after all, he's not immune to his own hormones," he continued, making Lucy blush even more.

"Yeah right…" she muttered, scowling at her plate. "I think I'm going to go home, I'm tired and I need a bath. See you all tomorrow," she said and got up from the table. Her friends continued to grin at her red face as they bid her farewell for the night and she walked out of the guild towards her apartment. Lucy walked in silence the whole way there, her mind in turmoil after the conversation she had just had.

_There's no way…. Natsu doesn't think about girls at all from what I can tell… He isn't interested in me…Not matter how much I want him to be…. _


	2. Chapter 2

**I know that I just posted the first chapter a little while ago but I'm really feeling a creative rush tonight so I went ahead and wrote the second chapter as well! **

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><p><span>Chapter 2<span>

**Natsu's POV**

He didn't know why Lucy's comments about his destructiveness had hurt but they had. He knew that she hadn't meant any harm by it, that she was just teasing, but for some reason he felt embarrassed and hurt. He was embarrassed because he didn't want Lucy to think of him as a destructive idiot, and it hurt t because he knew that his lack of self-control would sometimes cause her to lose rent money due to the damages he caused. He knew that it was sometimes hard for her to pay her rent and pay for all the other necessities that she needed. In the past when he'd gone overboard and they had had their reward reduced to pay for the damages, she would get upset and sometimes cry, making him feel awful. He had been trying hard in recent months to keep himself from causing unnecessary destruction in order to keep her happy. He wasn't sure exactly why he did it, but he liked to see her smile. She had a beautiful smile that seemed to light up the world, and caused everyone around her to smile in turn.

"-su-nii…"

Why was he always trying to make her smile? What was it about her that made him want to try his hardest to keep her from crying?

"Natsu-nii!"

He snapped out of his thoughts and turned his head to see Romeo looking at him curiously.

"Huh?"

"I was just saying that you look like something is bothering you Natsu-nii," said the younger mage. Natsu sighed. He wasn't sure if he should tell Romeo about his confusing thoughts but he didn't think that it would hurt if he did. The young mage was smart, he may even have his own opinion on the situation and could possibly help Natsu.

"I've just been feeling confused lately," said the dragonslayer, raising his arms and holding the back of his head and staring up at the sky. "I'm feeling all these weird emotions that I've never felt before and I don't know how to handle them." Romeo listened patiently as Natsu said this and waited for him to continue. They walked on a little further before the older mage spoke again.

"It started a few weeks ago…."

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><p><strong><em>{Flashback}<em>**

_I wonder if Lucy wants to go on a job today? _

Natsu wandered the streets of Magnolia, making his lazy way towards the apartment of his best friend and teammate. He was alone, Happy had wanted to go find Carla and see if he could persuade her to accept his latest fish offering, so he had decided to pay Lucy a visit. He felt very relaxed as he walked along the busy streets, the smells of many delicious foods wafting through the air and the cries of small children playing in the streets reaching his ears. He liked the walk to Lucy's place. It took him through the town's markets, and he almost always made stops at his favorite stands to make purchases or simply to chat with the locals. They all knew the pink-haired man well, and they knew how he had protected them many times in the past. They appreciated all that he did for their town and because of this they forgave him when he occasionally burned down a building or destroyed something during the many fights that he had with his guildmates or with rival guilds.

Today however, Natsu merely waved at the vendors he passed. He was eager to get to Lucy's so that they could go on a mission together. He had started to enjoy being alone with her recently, and he was excited to get the day started. It only took him five more minutes to reach Lucy's apartment, and once he was there he lept up to her open window. She had realized that even if she locked it he and her other teammates always found their way into her apartment (thanks to the spare key that Mira was always willing to lend them), so she had recently begun to leave her window open.

Lucy wasn't in her room when he stepped down from the windowsill. He could hear the sounds of running water coming from her bathroom and he reasoned that she must be taking a shower. A faint blush tinged his cheeks when he thought of the busty blonde in the shower. That was a new feeling to him as well. Before Lucy had arrived at Fairy Tail he had never really thought about what a woman's naked body looked like. Sure he had bathed with the other members of his team when they were children, the memories of bathing with Gray and Erza still made him rather nauseous, but he had never really been bothered by nakedness. However, after Lucy had joined the guild and he had begun to hang out at her apartment, he began to be more aware of what a woman's body looked like. Not just any woman's body. Lucy's in particular.

He really didn't know what it was. In the beginning seeing her in a towel after she emerged from the shower hadn't affected him much at all. But lately… He found himself hoping that she would be showering every time that he chose to come by her place. He felt kinda like a perv for wanting to catch a glimpse of her in nothing but a towel, but still he felt drawn to her apartment. Seeing her long, smooth legs dripping with water and her hair slicked back from the shower, stirred something inside of Natsu.

There were some sensations he did understand. He completely understood the tightening in his groin every time he was lucky enough to come by when she was exiting the shower. He was a man and he knew that his body appreciated the sight of a shapely woman in nothing but a towel. But there were some emotions that he couldn't easily identify…

Natsu flopped down on her bed and waited for her to emerge from the bathroom. He really hoped that she would be willing to go on a mission today.

A quiet noise startled him from his thoughts. A low, breathless moan had come from the closed bathroom door. The sound caused Natsu's body to stiffen and heat up. A faint blush began to appear on his cheeks. Had Lucy just moaned? He slowly got up and crept to the bathroom door, desperately trying to make no noise. He pressed his ear gently to the door and waited.

Another moan, louder this time, came from the closed door. Natsu's blush deepened. Something was making Lucy feel very good indeed. He sniffed. There were the typical scents coming from her bathroom. The strawberry smell of her shampoo and the vanilla of her body wash… But there was a heavier, headier smell coming through the cracks around the door today…

Natsu breathed in deeply, the scent filling his nostrils and making his head spin. It was a marvelous scent. It caused heat to shoot through his body, particularly to his groin. He felt his pants begin to tighten as his member stiffened a bit. It smelled like Lucy, but a richer version of her smell. It made his mouth water.

"N-Natsu….."

His eyes widened. It wasn't just a moan that time. She had moaned his name. He had to get out. He couldn't stand this. It took all his strength not to open the door and see what she was doing in there. He decided that he would wait at the guild for her. As he stepped up onto her windowsill he looked back longingly at her bathroom door, where he could still hear faint noises. He sighed and jumped down to the street below.

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><p>As Natsu finished his story, he looked over at the younger mage. Romeo's face was a deep shade of red and he looked a bit uncomfortable.<p>

"What's wrong?" asked Natsu. They younger boy blushed deeper and looked at his feet.

"Well I think I understand the feelings that you're getting Natsu-nii…" he started. Natsu realized what he meant.

"Oh wow…. Yeah… I hadn't realized that I had focused mainly on those emotions…" He had meant to talk more about the really confusing feelings that he had been experiencing but he had gotten side tracked on his memories of Lucy. "Those weren't the feelings that I was talking about. I know about those, Igneel taught me a little about them and the rest was explained to me by the older men in the guild." He vividly remembered the older men calling all of the boys in the guild to a talk once they had all reached a certain age. It had been a very uncomfortable afternoon while they had had the birds and the bees explained to them. Romeo looked relieved.

"Well then what kind of feelings do you mean?" he asked. Natsu sighed.

"I just feel…drawn to Lucy. I'm always thinking about her even when she's not around. I can't explain it very well. But I always want to make her happy and I want to impress her all the time. I also hate how I sometimes cause her to lose reward money when I break stuff," he said, kicking a rock and looking embarrassed. Romeo smiled sympathetically.

"I know the feeling," he said. "I get the same feeling about Wendy." Natsu looked at the younger mage in surprise.

"You do?"

"Yeah. I really like her," said Romeo, blushing. Natsu stopped.

"You like her? That's what those feelings mean?" he said, sounding confused. Romeo halted as well. They had stopped at the riverbank, where they often came to train.

"Well, yeah… I always want to see Wendy and I'm always wanting her to notice me," said the young boy, blushing again. Natsu sat down on the ground, a puzzled expression on his face.

"So… Does that mean that I like Lucy?" he asked. Romeo laughed. He knew that Natsu wasn't good with emotion but sometimes it really amazed him exactly how bad the older mage was with them.

"Everyone in the guild thinks that you do. You were never this way with any of the other girls, not even Lisanna. You treat Lucy differently. I know that I'm not very experienced when it comes to this sort of thing since I'm so young…but it really seems like you love Lucy," he said, smiling at his older friend. Natsu just stared at the water of the river flowing by, his mouth hanging slightly open.

_Do I love Lucy?_

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><p><strong>Well there's chapter two! ^w^ I'm really trying hard to give Natsu that 'he really doesn't understand what he's feeing' vibe. I want this story to really show how he works through understanding his emotions with help from Romeo. I think because Romeo is younger and less experienced, he's going to look at his feelings towards Wendy in a more pure way than some adults would, and its going to make it easier for him to explain it to Natsu, who doesn't really cope well with emotions like this. I also think that because Romeo's mother divorced his father, he's going to view love and relationships in different way than others. Like he thinks that being honest about feelings is important because he doesn't want to see people split apart like his parents...<strong>

**Anyway, we'll see how this story progresses!**

**Reviews are always welcome! If there are any other pairings that you would like to see in this story let me know! I'm going to need some filler for some of the chapters because I really would like to stretch out the story of Natsu and Lucy realizing their feelings.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Alrighty, here is chapter three! I'm really just working through this fanfic by feel and I hope that its turned out well so far. I'm a bit distracted with getting ready to go back to school and packing for that so I thought I'd squeeze out a chapter this morning before I get too busy tonight.**

**Fair warning, this chapter is a little bit mature!**

**Hope that you enjoy this chapter! As always reviews are welcome and desired!**

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><p><span>Chapter 3<span>

**Lucy's POV**

Lucy's apartment felt cold as she opened the door and entered. They had been away for a week and winter was beginning to take hold in Magnolia, so the fire hadn't been lit since she left. She shivered a little and went about lighting the fire, her fingers fumbling with the matches.

_Too bad Natsu didn't come with me. He could have had this lit in a second…_

Lucy blushed and shook her head, the words of her guildmates echoing in her mind as she struggled to get the fire going.

"_I personally think Natsu has feelings for you!"_

Lucy sighed as she finally managed to light the fire. Her guild mates must be crazy. There was no way the child-like mind of Natsu could grasp the idea of having strong feelings of love for someone. Wait, love? Lucy blushed again. She knew that she had feelings for her rambunctious teammate but she had never thought of it as love before.

"I must be losing my mind," she mumbled to herself as she made her way to her bedroom. "I just need a hot bath to relax." She stepped into the bathroom and turned on the taps for the bathtub, pouring in some of her favorite strawberry scented bubble bath. She felt gross after their long mission and this bath was just what she needed. Releasing her long blonde hair from its two pigtails, she stripped and tossed her clothes in her laundry basket.

Lucy groaned as she slipped into the hot water, feeling the tension in her muscles releasing. This was the life. She reached for her bottle of strawberry shampoo and began to wash away the grime from the mission. She hummed softly as she worked, letting her mind relax and become blank as she focused on scrubbing herself clean. When she had finished cleaning her hair and body she leaned back in the tub and closed her eyes.

"_Natsu is a man after all, he's not immune to his own hormones."_

Lucy blushed as she remembered Gray's words. Now what he had said was truly ridiculous. There was no way that Natsu had any interest in her physically. The guy never even participated in the conversations with the other men in the guild, when they drunkenly began to compare the female mages to each other. She doubted if he even knew what sex appeal meant. But…

_He has suggested using me for distraction purposes before… That means he must have noticed some things about me. _

Her face reddened as she imagined Natsu looking over her from afar, his eyes passing down her body, his gaze lingering on her generous breasts and long legs. The thought sent a pleasurable chill down her spine and caused warmth to pool low down in her stomach. Oh how she longed for him to look at her like that.

Natsu was a beautiful specimen of a man. His body was firm and well muscled, a delicious looking shade of tan. She desperately wished that she could skim her hands over the smooth skin on his chest, lightly dragging her nails so that he would groan at the sensation. She wished that she could thread her fingers through his soft pink hair and pull him in for a deep kiss…

Lucy blushed even harder and splashed water on her face. She really had to stop thinking like that. She'd end up hot and bothered, and taking care of herself really didn't do too much to ease the ache between her legs. She ran her hands up her legs to make sure that she hadn't missed any spots while shaving, but found herself imagining that a much stronger and bigger pair of hands replaced her own. She sighed and hung her head. It looked like her thoughts had already gotten away from her and she could feel the ache beginning in her core.

She fervently hoped that none of her teammates had barged into her apartment while she had been in the bath as her right hand slowly inched down to her center. She had done this before, but it was still embarrassing every time that she did it.

"_Natsu is a man after all…" _

Lucy bit her lip as she slowly rubbed her clit. Natsu indeed was a man, a very sexy one. She closed her eyes and let her fantasies sweep her away.

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><p>She imagined him holding her tightly against his chest as he lay in the bath behind her, his rough fingers stroking her lower lips as he pressed wet kisses to the smooth column of her neck. His left hand gently massaging her breast and then moved to take her hard nipple between his thumb and forefinger to pinch it gently. Lucy gasped and groaned at his touches, causing him to chuckle against her skin at her reactions.<p>

"You make the most delicious noises Lucy," he purred. His low voice only made Lucy whimper as he continued to stroke her, his fingers alternating between long strokes up her slit and making gentle circles on her clit. She wished that he would just stop teasing her. As if he could read her thoughts, he gently slipped one long digit into her wet heat, and she gasped loudly. Another chuckle rumbled from the man behind her.

"So wet for me Luce. So eager for me. Who would have thought that you'd be so desperate for my touch?" Lucy moaned and bucked against his hand, wanting more than what he was giving her. She felt Natsu's teeth on her neck as he gently bit down, causing her to shudder and moan again. "Now now," he whispered, pulling his finger out of her slightly making her whine at the loss. "None of that. You have to be patient and wait for your treat," he growled. She whined but nodded as he slowly pushed his finger back in, slowly stroking inside her. He was going to make her burn for him.

"N-natsu!" she gasped, as a second digit joined the first. She felt her walls stretching at the intrusion, her virgin passage tight.

"So tight," he groaned as her walls squeezed his fingers. He pressed more kisses to her neck and sucked gently on the skin just below her ear. She moaned loudly, desperation evident in her voice. "I may have to speed things up after all. I need to be inside you," he growled.

Lucy whimpered as his hard fingers began to pump in and out of her tight passage. He was gentle, but she felt the strength he was barely containing. It turned her on even more that he had to restrain himself from taking her hard and fast. A third finger filled her and she cried out, involuntarily bucking against his hand, but he didn't notice.

"Come for me Lucy," he whispered hoarsely. "I want to be the only one who does this to you." She moaned at his words, her hips lifting up in her desperation to feel him more.

"Only you Natsu! Only you!" she cried. He was kissing her neck again, alternating between wet sucks and gentle bites. It was driving her crazy. She could feel his hard length pressing against her from behind and she longed to feel it pushing into her core. She grinded against him, wanting to take him inside her. He growled loudly and his other hand joined the first between her legs, rubbing her clit and bringing her body to the brink of release.

"I wasn't asking you to come," he groaned and bit the sensitive juncture between her neck and shoulder. Lucy came apart in his arms, screaming out his name as her world focused on this one moment of absolute bliss.

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><p>Lucy didn't open her eyes immediately as her fantasy ended. She lay in the bath, panting as she came down from her orgasm.<p>

_If I keep this up I won't be able to look Natsu in the face much longer. _

Lucy sighed and got out of the bath. She wanted the words of her guildmates to be true. She longed for Natsu to love her and desire her. But she wasn't going to get her hopes up. She was a sensible girl, and she knew that her desires would probably go unfulfilled. She accepted that. But there would always be a part of her that desperately desired the dragonslayer.

"I think I'll turn in early tonight," she said to herself, pulling out her pajamas and getting into them. She had soaked in the bath for a long while after her fantasy had ended and the afternoon was fading quickly into evening. She went downstairs and fixed herself a light dinner before heading back upstairs. She spent an hour or so working on her novel before getting into bed and turning off the lights.

_Tomorrow I'll go back to my normal routine as usual._


	4. Chapter 4

**Well it looks like I had enough time today to get another chapter out! I'm sure that once my classes start back up I'll have less time to work on the story so I suppose it's good to get out as many key chapters as I can.**

**This chapter is much less raunchy than the last! (Sorry to disappoint you if you were looking for more yummy citrus, I promise more will come soon! ;) ) This chapter is more about how Natsu is going to begin working through his emotions. I really want to stretch out this process for him as I think that it really would take him a while to really understand what love is. Lucy obviously has already accepted her feelings for Natsu but he's much slower with coming to terms with his own feelings. My ultimate goal is to have him come to his final conclusion with the help and support of the rest of Fairy Tail (not everyone obviously because it would take too long, but a few of key members), because they're always there for each other and I feel as if everyone would want to help their poor dragonslayer in this situation. **

**Well that's enough rambling on my part! I hope that you enjoy this chapter! Review and let me know what you think! **

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><p><span>Chapter 4<span>

**Natsu's POV**

He was still sitting by the riverbank hours later. Romeo had left for home about an hour ago, exhausted but feeling good due to Natsu's praise. The dragonslayer had been impressed with how much his young friend had improved, and had enjoyed tasting the new fire that Romeo had been working on.

He had created a white flame condensed into crescent shapes that sliced like blades, which he fired at his opponents. His ultimate goal was to be able to control the flames to the point where he could change their direction in midair. It would take time, but the training was going well and Natsu had high hopes for this technique. He had particularly liked the taste of these flames. They tasted like warm vanilla, what he imagined Lucy tasted like… His eyes darkened at the memory. He kept going over and over his conversation with Romeo, struggling to process what he had said and heard.

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><p><em><strong>{Flashback}<strong>_

"Natsu-nii?"

Natsu shook his head and turned to his young friend. Romeo was watching the man with a look of concern on his face. It was rare to see the dragonslayer so lost in thought.

"Sorry Romeo… What were you saying?" said Natsu, rubbing his hands over his face and sighing. He had completely missed the next sentence after Romeo said he thought that Natsu loved Lucy.

"It's alright. I was asking if you think that you love Lucy," said they young boy, sitting down next to his confused friend.

"I… I'm really not sure…" said Natsu, staring down at his hands. He had never really thought much about his feelings for Lucy, other than the fact that he found her physically attractive. It had seemed like such a silly thing to think about since they were teammates. "We're teammates after all… Wouldn't it be…weird…if I had feelings like that for her?" The younger mage shook his head, smiling slightly.

"Have you forgotten about Bisca and Alzack? They were teammates for a long time and now they're married and have a child together," he said. Natsu had completely forgotten about that. It had become difficult to remember the times before the gun mages had been married, what with everyone preoccupied with doting on their daughter Asuka.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," said the pink haired man. "But I'm still not entirely sure if it's love that I'm feeling for her. I don't even really know exactly what love is." Romeo nodded in understanding.

"Maybe you should think about it more. You know, read a little about love," he said. Natsu pulled a sour face at the word 'read', and Romeo laughed. "It won't kill you to gain a little knowledge. It may help you with what you're feeling." Natsu grunted, loath to admit that Romeo's idea had actually been a good one. "Why don't you ask Levy? She's got tons of books and I'm sure that she'd be able to help you out! You might even want to tell her what you told me, what with her being Lucy's best friend and all."

"You really think that Levy would keep something like that a secret from Lucy? Don't girls tell each other everything?!" exclaimed Natsu, a look of disbelief on his face. Romeo laughed yet again at his older friend.

"I'm sure that she'll understand if you explain your situation," he said. He placed a hand on Natsu's shoulder comfortingly. Natsu smiled slightly at the gesture, appreciative of his young friends support. "I really think you need to work this out Natsu-nii," said the boy, his face taking on a sad expression. "Love is important. It can hurt if it goes wrong. I saw that happen with mom and dad…" Natsu felt a surge of pity for his young friend. His parents had divorced and he knew that it had been hard on the boy. He ruffled Romeo's hair.

"Yeah I guess you're right. It wouldn't hurt to talk to Levy," the man said, rising to his feet. "But first lets train, we didn't come out here just to talk about my issues!"

"Right!"

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><p>Natsu sat on the riverbank a while longer, lost in thought. Finally he got to his feet, his mind made up. He would go to see Levy and talk to her about this whole situation. Maybe a girl's input would help him to make up his mind about his feelings. Girls were good at feelings right?<p>

Natsu knew that Levy lived at the Fairy Hills dorm near the guildhall so he made his way to the guild first. When he had reached the building he sniffed the air, determining that the small woman had already left the guild for the night. He turned away from the guild and took the path that would lead him to the dorm.

As he walked he caught faint traces of another scent, taking the same path as Levy's. It was an odd smell, metallic and musky at the same time. His nose wrinkled as he put an identity to that smell. It belonged to Gajeel, the Iron Dragonslayer. He was confused about his own feelings but Natsu was smart enough to realize that the heavily pierced mage cared for Levy more than he let on. He and the rest of the guild had watched as the petite solid script mage had been slowly, unknowingly, changing the former dark mage for the better. He was a kinder person now, showing genuine concern for his guildmates. He now took a lot of pride in being a Fairy Tail mage, and they all knew that he would rather die than let his friends suffer.

He couldn't help but compare how Gajeel had changed to how he himself had changed since Lucy had come to the guild. He had to admit that when he looked at it that way he could see why Romeo had said he had feelings for Lucy. He still wasn't quite sure though…

He stopped outside Fairy Hills, wary of getting near the building. He had come there once looking for Lucy who had been visiting with Levy and a few of the other girls, and when Erza had discovered him wandering the halls he had thought he was going to die. He had escaped, but not without receiving some painful bruises. He noted that Gajeel's scent stopped just short of the front door as well. The man wouldn't admit it but he too was sometimes scared by Erza.

"Can't go in the front door," muttered Natsu. He began to walk around the outside of the building, sniffing the air in the hopes of catching Levy's scent coming from one of the windows. After a bit of searching he found what he was looking for. He looked up at the window in question and saw large bookshelves through the glass. Definitely Levy's room.

He searched the ground for a small stone and after a few seconds he found one. He was very careful about tossing it as gently as he could, knowing that gentle for him could still be enough to completely shatter the window. He held his breath as it flew up to the window and sighed relief when it merely tapped on the glass without making a mark.

Levy must have been sitting very close to the window because after only a few seconds he heard the latch click and watched as she pushed the window open.

"Who's there? Gajeel?" said the blunette, a hopeful smile on her face. Natsu couldn't help but laugh at this.

"Sorry to disappoint you Levy but it's just me," he teased. The young woman blushed and quickly dropped the brief look of disappointment that had crossed her face.

"Oh hey Natsu, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be invading Lucy's apartment?" she countered, giving him a taste of his own medicine. The woman giggled at the embarrassed flush that crept over Natsu's face at the mention of his habit.

"Uh…well…I actually wanted to talk to you about Lucy…" he said slowly, shuffling his feet and not looking Levy in the eye. She eyed him suspiciously.

"What about her?" she asked, her curiosity peaked at his obviously embarrassed behavior.

"It's kinda personal," said Natsu. "Would it be possible for me to come up and talk to you? I'd prefer it if this conversation was private." Levy looked shocked but she nodded.

"Yeah you can come in. Can you jump up from there? We don't want a repeat of the last time you were here. It took you a while to recover from the beating Erza gave you, and I don't think Lu would appreciate it if I got you beat up. She'd have a hard time earning her rent money without you," she said, casting about as if she thought that Erza could be watching them at that very moment.

In answer Natsu crouched and leapt up to her window. It was only on the second floor so it was an easy jump for him. He slipped quickly through the window and flopped down onto the floor in the middle of Levy's room, mentally preparing himself for the conversation he was about to have. Levy settled herself into her favorite reading chair and looked at him curiously.

"Sooo…. What did you want to talk about? You said it was about Lucy," asked Levy, her tone indicating that she was about to burst with the suspense.

"Y-yeah…" began Natsu, pausing and taking a deep breath to compose himself before getting started. "IthinkImightbeinlovewithher!" he mumbled quickly, his cheeks reddening to a shade similar to Erza's hair.

"Pardon? I couldn't understand you," said Levy. Natsu sighed and took a few more deep breaths.

"I-I think I might be in love with Lucy," he whispered. He had meant to speak more clearly this time but he was still horribly embarrassed and it had been hard to force the words out. Levy had apparently still been able to hear him because she was staring at him with a mixture of surprise and triumph on her face.

"I knew it!" she burst out, making Natsu flinch. He made shushing noises and waved his hands indicating that she should lower her voice. Levy looked like she was going to burst with happiness.

"Calm down Levy, I said I _think_ I love her," he muttered, still blushing. "Well, Romeo thinks that I do. But I don't know! I don't know exactly what love is!"

Natsu looked up from the floor to see Levy looking at him kindly, a look of understanding on her face. He remained silent for a few more seconds then continued.

"I just can't understand all these feelings that I'm having… Part of it is this deep desire to protect her and to keep her happy… Another part of it is this physical ache that I have that I just can't shake," he said. He wasn't looking at Levy as he said this, so he didn't see her face redden when he mentioned the physical feeling. By the time he looked back up at her she had regained her composure.

"So you're confused about your feelings for Lucy," said the blue haired woman. Natsu nodded and she continued. "I definitely understand where you're coming from. I myself have been feeling some confusing emotions lately, and don't you dare smirk at that or say a word!" Levy glared at the dragonslayer at he had opened his mouth to tease her about Gajeel, but he shut it quickly and cowered a little when he saw her expression. He needed to keep her in a good mood so that she wouldn't be tempted to blab his secret. The blunette's expression softened and she got to the point. "So what kind of help do you need from me?"

"Well… Romeo said that you'd probably have books on love and stuff like that, and you're Lucy's best friend so I was hoping that you could help me work through these weird feelings," the man said, hoping desperately that Levy would agree to help him. He felt a surge of relief when he saw her smile and nod.

"Of course I'll help you Natsu," she said warmly. "I'm a sucker for a good love story after all," she added, winking at the young man making him blush and grumble under his breath. Levy got up and grabbed her small kettle. Natsu looked at her curiously. "I'm going to make us some tea. This is going to be a long conversation."

Natsu groaned and rubbed his eyes. He could tell that this was going to be a long night and he was already tired. A few minutes later Levy handed him a hot mug of tea and settled back into her armchair.

"Now, tell me everything," she said. She had the same excited look on her face that she had when she was about to get started on a new book. Natsu sighed and prepared to begin.

_What have I gotten myself into…?_

* * *

><p><strong>I have a request for you readers! It is my hope that you have been enjoying my work so far, and if you have I would love to hear if you would like to see me begin work on other projects as well! I think that the only way for me to improve my writing is to keep practicing so if there is anything that you would like to see from me leave a request in the reviews or send me a message. :) <strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Wow my inner perv is really coming out to play today... Sleep was eluding me so I decided to finish yet another chapter... Don't judge me haha. **

**A limey treat for ya'll in this chapter ;)**

**I don't feel like this one is as well written as the others cause it's late and I'm kinda tired, but I may go back later on and make some edits. For now I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 5<span>

**Natsu's POV**

Natsu's meeting with Levy didn't last nearly as long as he had thought it would. As he told her about his emotional confusion he felt his eyes beginning to drool and complete and utter exhaustion threatened to overwhelm him. The mental stress of the day combined with his return from a week-long mission _and _training with Romeo was taking its toll on the dragonslayer. He tried his hardest to stifle a yawn as he finished speaking. Levy gave him a gentle smile.

"You look exhausted Natsu," she said. Natsu had to admit that he really was exhausted. He wasn't used to worrying about his emotions and he hadn't realized how draining it could be. "How about we save this for tomorrow? The mind doesn't function as well while tired so it'll be better for us to talk when you've rested."

Natsu nodded dully and yawned. He really did need sleep. He rose to his feet and began to get out the window when Levy spoke behind him.

* * *

><p><strong>Levy's POV<strong>

_Poor guy is worn out. _

Levy's face had a little smile on it as she watched Natsu drag himself up from the floor. She knew that he was confused and tired and she really did think that it would be better for him to rest before really getting into working out his feelings. He blinked wearily, putting her in mind of a child up past their bedtime and desperately trying to stay awake. He started towards the window but she called him back.

"Woah there Natsu, just a couple more things," she said, her smile widening as she saw the exasperated look on his face. "I promise it won't take more than a few minutes."

"What is it?" he grumbled, but didn't take any further steps towards the window.

"Well firstly we need to decide where to meet up to talk about this tomorrow," said Levy, and Natsu nodded when he saw the sense in this. "How about the library? And before you grumble about how I always want to go to the library, remember that the library is full of books that could help you figure this situation out."

The man grumbled again but agreed that what she said made sense.

"Also…" began Levy, a sly smile threatening to reveal itself on her lips. She walked over to one of her bookshelves and carefully selected one of the books. She handed it to Natsu. "This may help with the…physical….confusion that you're having." Natsu blinked slowly at her but didn't question what she said, he was too tired.

"Mkay Levy, thanks a lot. I'll meet you in the library tomorrow morning," he mumbled sleepily and exited via the window.

After he'd left Levy finally released the squeal that she'd been suppressing ever since Natsu had admitted his potential feelings for her best friend. She jumped up and down and even did a little happy dance. Lucy had been telling her for ages in private about her feelings for the pink-haired dragonslayer and now it seemed as if soon Lucy would finally be getting what she wanted.

Levy was determined to help Natsu realize that he was madly in love with Lucy, and she couldn't wait for the next day. She smirked a little to herself when she thought about the book she had given Natsu before he had left.

Now Levy was in every way a polite, gentle lady. But even ladies can have a mischievous side. She would never admit it to anyone but a select few, but she had amassed quite a collection of romantic novels. Some she had found on her own and some she had gotten from Erza, who had a particular interest for them. One of the more…mature…books happened to now be in the hand of a certain fire dragonslayer… She thought that just this once she could trust Natsu not to go about blabbing to everyone about what kind of books she owned.

_It won't hurt to give him a little bit of a push…_

Levy knew that men's brains had a direct link to their more private areas. She planned on using that link to help Natsu on his way to admitting his love for Lucy. After all, girls had to look out for each other and help each other out. She was definitely doing Lucy a favor.

After all, the main female protagonist of that particular book happened to have the first name Lucy…

* * *

><p><strong>Natsu's POV<strong>

Night had long since fallen by the time that Natsu arrived at his and Happy's home. He sighed in relief as he opened the door and stepped inside. It was good to be home.

He could tell that Happy wasn't home. He must have decided to stay with Wendy and Carla, or even Lucy. Natsu himself had found himself unconsciously heading towards Lucy's apartment when he'd left Fairy Hills but had stopped himself. He didn't think that spending the night there was a good idea after that day. As much as he wanted to climb into bed with Lucy and breathe in her delicious scent, he was too confused about his feelings to be sleeping in the same bed as her. He really wished he could cuddle up to her sleeping form and caress the soft skin of her legs, pressing light kisses to her neck…

Natsu shook his head and blushed. He really needed to stop thinking like that. It made him feel like a perv and only confused him more about his feelings.

He rummaged around his kitchen and made himself a before bed snack. His mind remained blank as he ate, too tired to think more on the day's events. His gaze landed on the book that Levy had loaned him. It wasn't a particularly big book, it actually looked as is he could finish it within an hour and a half.

_Maybe I'll take a look at it before going to bed. _

He grabbed the book and took it into his bedroom with him, not bothering to clean up the mess he had made in the kitchen. Flopping down on the bed he began to read.

He had only been reading for about ten minutes before his face began to redden.

The sound of pages flipping began to come more and more frequently as he read faster.

After about fifty minutes he slammed the book shut, his face red and his pants feeling uncomfortably tight.

_Damn it Levy… What were you thinking handing me this?_

* * *

><p>He couldn't believe this was happening. It was like a dream come true. Natsu had been lying in his bed staring up at his ceiling when he had heard the door to his house open quietly then shut. He tensed up and sniffed the air.<p>

Strawberry and vanilla.

Lucy…

He saw a dark shape enter his room, and then felt the bed dip as she crawled over the covers towards him.

"Lucy what are you-…" he began, but was cut off as an incredibly soft pair of lips pressed against his own. His nostrils flared in surprise and he groaned as he was overwhelmed with her sweet scent. He kissed her back hungrily, sliding his tongue across her bottom lip in a demand for entry. She moaned softly at this and opened her lips, allowing him to sweep his tongue into her mouth and taste every bit that he could reach. He pulled her roughly against his suddenly hyperaware body, groaning as her large breasts pressed against his naked chest.

"Natsu!" she gasped as she broke their kiss, her breathing heavy and her eyes clouded with lust. Hearing her say his name like that nearly drove him over the edge. He crashed his lips against hers again and began running his hands all over her voluptuous form. He wanted to touch every inch of her, make her feel amazing, get lost in her scent and never find his way out.

"Oh Lucy," he groaned as one of his hands cupped her breast and his thumb rubbed lightly over her nipple, causing her to moan into his ear. "I need you. I need to feel you." Lucy seemed to purr at his words and pressed a kiss to his eager lips.

"I need you too Natsu, I feel like I'm burning up." He shuddered at those words and began to reach for the loose shorts that she was wearing, but she stopped him as his hands touched the waistband.

"Lucy?" he said, confused at her actions. Didn't she just say that she wanted him as well? He saw her hazel eyes darken and a mischievous smile graced her lips. He nearly cried out when he felt her warm hand cup him through his pants.

"Let me play with you first," she purred into his ear, and he moaned loudly when he felt her lips suck gently at his neck. He was a goner. He must have died and gone to heaven. This couldn't possibly get better.

He was very wrong.

Before he realized what was going on he was lying on his back on his bed and his pants and boxers were gone. He had begun to wonder what had happened when everything in his mind completely disappeared, every fiber of his being focused on the warm hand gently stroking his painfully aroused member.

"Oh fuck!" he gasped, not able to form anything more coherent than that. He heard Lucy chuckle and trembled as her hand squeezed him gently. Was she trying to kill him?

He realized that she must be when he felt her warm tongue lick slowly up his whole length. It took all his strength to keep himself from cumming right then. He couldn't even move. He could only focus on keeping himself from ending the fun too early.

"Mmmm… Delicious," said Lucy, licking her lips before bending back down to give more attention to his thick shaft. Natsu wanted to cry at how good it felt. Her tongue was doing all sorts of good things to him, and when she closed her whole mouth over him he swore that he blacked out.

His skin was on fire. He was straining to keep himself from thrusting roughly into her mouth as she sucked and licked him. His hand found its way to the back of her head and he tangled his fingers in her soft blonde hair. She hummed in pleasure at this and that caused Natsu to cry out as he mouth vibrated around his length.

"Lucy! Oh fuck Lucy!" he moaned loudly. He lost control briefly as she gave a particularly hard suck, and his hips bucked, pushing his cock further into her mouth. His eyes flew open when he felt himself hit the back of her throat.

For a terrifying moment he thought that she would stop, but his fears evaporated when he felt her take him in deeply again, beginning a quick rhythm. He whimpered as she bobbed her head up and down, feeling his impending orgasm drawing closer. He wasn't going to last much longer at this rate.

"Lucy wait, I wan-aaaaahhhhhhh!" he couldn't finish his sentence as she gently squeezed his balls. He could feel a tingling at the base of his spine, he was so close.

"Lucy! I'm gonna cum!" he yelled. This seemed to excite Lucy immensely because she seemed to redouble her efforts. Licking, squeezing, sucking, and moaning around his member.

Then he lost it.

Natsu screamed out her name as he came. Everything around him vanished, replaced by pure and intense pleasure. Everything except her. He heard her whisper something as he began to come down from his high…

* * *

><p>Natsu's eyes flew open as he awoke, the scream from his dream just dying on his lips. He could tell that he was going to need to get up and clean himself up. But for the time being he just lay there on his bed, panting up at the ceiling.<p>

The words dream Lucy had whispered echoed in his mind.

_I love you Natsu…_


	6. News Update 1

**Hello lovelies! Sorry that this isn't a chapter post but I just thought that I would let you all know that I will be posting a new chapter later on today! I've been super busy the past few days what with moving back into my dorm and going about my first few days of class (today is my second day back, wooooo). I'm going to have a HUGE workload from my classes but I promise that I will be trying to do at least one chapter a day, or if I'm not able to manage that every other day. Having two majors comes at a price I'm afraid...**

**But anyway, I'm going to be uploading a new chapter this afternoon. :) I'll be half thinking of what it's going to contain while in class and I'll probably do a rough outline on scratch paper. I haven't been doing this for the previous chapters so hopefully this one will be a lot better. **

**While I'm thinking about it, I'd like to again say that if any of you have any requests for new projects for me to work on please feel free to leave a suggestion in the reviews or send me a direct message. :) I've been rewatching Fairy Tail from the beginning (cause quite frankly I'm growing bored of the current filler arc, I'm itching for the Tartarus arc to start so I can feel all of the feels) and its making me feel inspired to start on new projects.**

**Once again I'm sorry for the delay on the update but it will be out this afternoon! **

**Sending ya'll much love and thanks for the amazing support I've gotten 3**

**Sabina**


	7. Chapter 6

**Hello again my lovely readers! I'm gonna start by saying...holy cow this is a long chapter. I just got on a roll with the story and I couldn't stop myself. Just bear with me! I promise all this reading is going to be worth it! I thought that I'd spice up the story a bit with a little bit of a surprise (you'll know what I mean when you read it) so I hope that you like it! My creative muse is really working hard today so I'll probably try to put out a second chapter after I get back from my Physics lab (no promises but I'll try!).**

**I really appreciate all the kind words about my work and I'll keep trying to make it an engaging and enjoyable story for ya'll! **

**As always reviews and suggestions are welcome!**

**Much Love**

**Sabina**

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><p><span>Chapter 6<span>

**Lucy's POV**

Bright sunlight filtered in through Lucy's open window and she stirred when it fell across her face. She groaned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

She had not slept well. Her dreams had been strange, filled with whispers that she couldn't make out and strange sensations. Everything had been so vivid. She had almost thought that it wasn't a dream. She lay on her back and stared up at the ceiling, the last thing that she had heard in her dream still clear in her mind. It had been barely a whisper, but this was the only thing that she'd been able to clearly make out during the whole dream.

_I love you Lucy…_

The voice had sounded so familiar… Whoever the speaker was had spoken with so much sincerity and passion that she had no doubt that whoever it was loved and treasured her more than anything. More even than their own life.

_But it was just a dream. _

It was only with slight disappointment that Lucy dismissed the dream and rose from her bed. She couldn't let herself mope over a little dream.

Lucy dressed quickly and paused as she entered her little kitchen. She really didn't feel like cooking anything that morning so she decided that she'd go to the guild for breakfast. Grabbing her whip and keys, she exited her apartment and started heading towards the Fairy Tail guildhall.

She could very faintly see her breath in the crisp morning air, but she could tell that it was going to be a beautiful day. She smiled absently as she walked through the streets of Magnolia, enjoying the feeling of not having to go on a job for a while. Their last job had paid enough that she had about two whole months before she would need to go on another for rent money. Lucy was looking forward to having some down time.

_I'll actually have time to get some work done on my novel!_

Lucy brightened at that thought and increased her pace. The thought of actually being able to have some personal time had energized her and she was eager to tell Levy that she'd soon have some new material to read.

It was still fairly early when she arrived at the guild so she hadn't expected to find Levy already there. She blunette was sitting at a table deeply immersed in one of the many books piled in front of her. She looked up as Lucy approached and her face lit up in excitement.

"Oh Lucy! It's rare to see you here so early!" said Levy, marking her page and setting the book down. She seemed to be quivering with excitement. Lucy wondered why she seemed to be so excited this early in the morning.

"Well the sun woke me up and I was hungry so I figured that I would come in to the guild early. I'm set on rent for the next few months so I thought I would eat and then go shopping for a while. I need to get more reference material since I'll actually have the time to work on my novel," said Lucy. Levy perked up even more at the mention of Lucy's novel.

"I can't wait! I'm really interested in seeing what happens next," she squealed. She leapt to her feet and hugged Lucy tightly, startling the blonde.

"Jeez Levy its just the rough draft, nothing to get so excited about. What's gotten into you?" she queried, giving the smaller woman a puzzled look. Levy only grinned and shook her head.

"Oh nothing, nothing. I just got some really exciting news last night and I'm feeling really happy today," she said. Lucy eyed her suspiciously.

"Alright if you say so," she muttered and walked over to the bar where Mira was cleaning plates. "Good morning Mira! Would you mind whipping me up a little something for breakfast?"

"No problem Lucy," said the white-haired Take Over mage. Lucy thanked her as she began preparing bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns. As she worked she continued her conversation with the celestial mage. "So what are you up to today?"

"Well I thought I'd go shopping since I've got a grace period before I need any more rent money," replied Lucy, her stomach rumbling at the delicious aroma filling the guildhall. Mira gave her a sly look an grinned.

"Not going to hang out with Natsu today?" she teased. A light pink blush appeared on Lucy's face.

"Well I had thought about asking him to come along with me whenever he got to the guild," she said, a little embarrassed. She was thinking of her time in the bath the night before and was thankful that nobody in the guild could read her mind.

"Well here's your chance," said Mira, looking over Lucy's shoulder. "Natsu!" Lucy turned in her chair as Mira called out to the fire dragonslayer. The young man had just entered the guild with Happy and was heading towards Mira, the look on his face indicating that he was hungry and ready for food. He slowed and his wide grin faded as he saw Lucy sitting next to Mira. Lucy frowned at this, was he still mad at what she had said last night?

"Hey Natsu!" she said cheerfully, waving at him and gesturing for him to take the seat next to her. "Want to come shopping with me after we eat?" Natsu halted a few feet away, and Lucy noticed that he was deliberately keeping from looking her in the eye. It was strange to see him acting like this.

"Uh… Sorry Luce I have stuff to do today…" he mumbled, still avoiding making eye contact with her. She frowned and looked at him with concern.

"You're not still mad about what I said yesterday are you? Cause I was just joking, I didn't mean to upset you or anything and I'm sorry if I did," she said, feeling a bit guilty as she remembered her teammates telling her that what she said had a big impact on the fire mage.

"No… I'm not upset about that. I uh… I have other things I need to go today. Actually I should go, I really need to get started," he said quickly, dismissively. Lucy fought back the annoyance rising in her. Why was he being so curt with her? Was he lying about not being upset? She was about to say something else when he turned around quickly and ran from the guildhall, slowing by Levy to mutter something in her ear before heading out the front doors. Mira and Lucy looked at each other in surprise.

"Well that was certainly strange," said the older woman, placing a plate full of food in front of Lucy. Lucy frowned as she picked up her knife and fork.

"I'll say…. Maybe he really is upset about what I said yesterday." Mira shook her head.

"Natsu isn't the kind of person who would lie to his friends. He's probably just got a lot on his mind," said Mira, trying to comfort the sad looking blonde. "You didn't do anything wrong. We all have our days." Lucy shrugged, reluctantly agreeing.

"I guess…."

* * *

><p>Thirty minutes later Lucy had finished her meal. She placed some Jewel on the counter, said goodbye to the few people that were in the guild then headed out the doors into sunlit street. It had warmed up a little, and she took in a deep breath as she stood there, enjoying the feeling of the sun on her skin.<p>

After a few seconds she opened her eyes and began to walk towards the shopping district of Magnolia. As Lucy walked she was greeted by various other Fairy Tail wizards who were making their way to the guild, and a few locals called out to her. She smiled and answered them all with a cheerful hello, all the while still wondering about the strangeness of her best friend's behavior.

_He wouldn't lie to me… Would he?_

Feeling a bit disheartened, she wandered about the various shops, occasionally stopping to have a chat with the shop owners or to make some small purchase. She took a particularly long time in the book store, selecting books that she thought would give her inspiration for her own writing and listening to the recommendation of the clerk. He was very fond of Lucy, who had been shopping at his store for a long time now.

As the morning went on she stopped at a few more stores, purchasing food and writing materials. A chill breeze swept through the street as she exited one shop and she shivered. Looks like it wasn't going to get any warmer that day. It would probably be a good idea to buy some new winter clothes. She hurried along to one of her favorite clothing stores, sighing in relief when she entered and began to warm up.

"Let me know if you need any help with your selections," said the shop owner politely, and Lucy nodded with a smile. "We've got some new designs in that have been very popular with the Blue Pegasus guild." Lucy wasn't surprised that the shop had based it's stock off of what the mages of Blue Pegasus were wearing. Many of their members were widely regarded as very fashionable and beautiful, so lots of people wanted to emulate them.

Lucy took her time browsing through the shop, occasionally picking up a particular piece of clothing and holding it up before either deciding to try it on or put it back. When she had a couple of outfits selected the clerk led her to the changing rooms and let her into one. Lucy was pleased with her selection. There were only one or two items that she hadn't liked so far and she only had one more outfit to try on. It looked like she was going to have a lot of cute new outfits that winter.

The blonde's smile brightened as she tried on the final outfit. She had saved this one for last because she thought that it was going to be her favorite of the lot and she had been correct. The look itself was very simple. The top was white and sleeveless, despite the coldness of the season, and made of a light flowy material. She was extremely pleased with how it fit, and with the narrow vertical slit from the base of her neck to the small of her back, which showed off her smooth skin. Over this was a heavy but supple, black leather jacket, and black leggings decorated with golden stars encased her shapely legs. She was really glad that she had found the jacket because she would have had to wait to wear the top until spring arrived otherwise. As she stood before the mirror outside the changing room admiring her reflection, someone spoke.

"I don't believe I've seen anyone as beautiful as you miss." Lucy started at the voice and turned around. A young man had walked up to her and was looking her over with an appreciative gleam in his eyes. Lucy blushed a little and smiled.

"That's really sweet of you to say," she said. The man smiled back at her and waved his hands dismissively.

"I was only speaking the truth. I wish we had more beautiful women like you over at Blue Pegasus. We already have some lovely ladies, but they don't hold a candle to you," he said, flashing her a brilliant smile. Lucy giggled.

"You've certainly mastered the smooth talk typical of Blue Pegasus," she said. The man chuckled.

"We are merely taught to behave like gentlemen," he said giving her a little bow. They continued to chat after Lucy had changed back into her own clothes and took her selections up to the counter to purchase. The Blue Pegasus mage generously offered to pay for her but she insisted that she had to herself. He really knew how to put on the charm without overdoing it, unlike a certain group of male Pegasus members she knew. After handing over the Jewel she owed they both exited the shop, the young man holding the door open for her politely.

"This may be bold of me but would it be too much to ask you to have dinner with me later this week?" asked the man, who she now knew as Darius. He had insisted on formally introducing himself after practically begging for her name. Lucy giggled and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"I think that I would like that," she said, causing Darius to smile in delight.

"Excellent! How about we meet at that fancy steakhouse near your guild on Friday?" he said, flashing her a bright smile.

"That sounds great, I'll meet you there at eight," she said, blushing again as he kissed her hand. She glanced around in embarrassment, hoping that nobody she knew was nearby and had seen. Her heart skipped a bit when she thought that she had seen a flash of pink hair disappearing around a corner but decided that she had been imagining things. Natsu was probably off training or fishing with Happy, he wouldn't be here in the middle of town.

Lucy said goodbye to Darius and walked away down the now crowded street, humming a little to herself. This date was just what she needed to get her mind off of all her confusing feelings about Natsu. She had just decided to go into a little café for some lunch when a female voice called her name.

"Oh Lucy! I didn't expect to see you around. You aren't trying to meet secretly with my beloved are you?!" Lucy sighed, she didn't even have to turn around to know who it was. Juvia appeared out of the crowd, a dark look on her face as she scanned for any sign of Gray.

"No Juvia, I'm just out by myself. I was about to go in and get something to eat," said Lucy exasperatedly. Why couldn't this woman understand that she wasn't interested in Gray? Juvia seemed to relax at this and smiled at the blonde in a friendly way.

"Oh well in that case how about we eat together? I was about to go in myself," she said, trying to diffuse the earlier tension. Lucy laughed a little at how quickly her mood could change, but decided that it would be nice to spend some time with the water mage.

"Sure that sounds good! Lets go in."

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes later they were happily gossiping while eating their meals. Lucy as glad that she had run into Juvia, she felt like they weren't as close as they could be and this was a great way to get to know the woman better. They chatted about various goings on at the guild and about things that had been happening recently around Fiore. Inevitably the topic of discussion turned to men.<p>

"So where's Natsu? I would have thought that he'd be out with you," asked Juvia. Lucy's expression saddened a bit.

"He uh… Said he had some stuff to do today…" said Lucy slowly, her previously cheerful mood darkening. Juvia noticed the change in her voice and expression and frowned in concern.

"Did something happen between you and the Salamander?" she asked. Lucy shrugged.

"I think he's upset about what I said yesterday. You know about him actually not wrecking stuff on our last job. He says that he isn't mad but he wouldn't even look me in the eye this morning." Lucy sighed and poked at the remains of her meal, suddenly not wanting to finish the rest of her food. Juvia patted her shoulder in a comforting way.

"I'm sure it's nothing. There's no way that Natsu could really be mad at you, not with the way he feels about you," she said. This made Lucy roll her eyes and groan.

"Don't tell me you think he's in love with me too," she grumbled. How was everyone coming to that conclusion? They must all be insane if they thought that Natsu was at all interested in her. Juvia gave her a warm smile.

"Of course I do. I can see it in the way he looks at you and the way he's always protecting you." Lucy scoffed.

"I really don't see it. I mean its Natsu… I just can't imagine him falling for someone like me…" her voice dropped as she said this and her voice cracked a little. She stared down at her lap as she tried to keep tears from forming in her eyes. Juvia gave her a worried look.

"Oh Lucy… I know that look… You have feelings for him don't you?" she said, reaching over and placing her hand over Lucy's, trying to comfort her. Lucy's shoulders began to shake as she tried to hold back her emotions.

"I mean… I care for him a lot. And we're always together on missions, or when he breaks into my apartment…" It was getting more difficult to hold back, her voice strained as she spoke. Juvia squeezed her hand and a tiny sob managed to break through. "I-I don't know how I feel… He's my teammate! He's Natsu! I _can't _fall for him!" Tears began to leak from her eyes and she began to speak more rapidly, desperately struggling to keep from bawling in the middle of the café. "There's no way he could ever return my feelings! It's just not the way that he is. All he thinks about it fighting and food. I'm pretty sure he doesn't even know what love is!"

Lucy was truly sobbing at this point, the tears flowing thick and fast. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment as she felt the gazes of many of the other customers looking at their table in confusion. Juvia squeezed her hand again and made soothing sounds. Finally Lucy managed to calm down a little, wiping her eyes. Juvia looked at her with a mixture of understanding and sympathy.

"Juvia understands how you feel… You think that your love will always be one sided and it hurts. Especially since you're so close to Natsu," she said, smiling sadly. "Juvia sometimes feels the same way about her relationship with Gray-sama. Like he may never return my feelings of love." Lucy stared at the rain woman with her mouth open a little. She had forgotten that Juvia also had a one-sided crush (well crush wasn't exactly the correct word, obsession fit the bill much better).

"I… I just don't know how I feel about him…" Lucy said brokenly. "Part of me wants to let go and give in to my emotions, but another part of me knows that it's probably hopeless." She started as Juvia's fist thumped onto the table.

"It's never hopeless!" said the water mage fiercely. Lucy was shocked at the passion in her voice. Juvia glared at Lucy for a moment then her expression softened. "There is always hope. You should never give up on something that makes you happy. Besides, you're wrong about Natsu not being able to understand things like love. He loved his father didn't he? He's always so desperate to find him. I see the same desperation and compassion in his eyes when he's worried about you or trying to save you that I see when he speaks of Igneel. He does love you Lucy, even if he doesn't realize it himself." Lucy could feel tears in her eyes again at Juvia's words. She wanted desperately for them to be true. But she still had her doubts.

"I really want to believe you Juvia… I want to believe that he can have feelings for me… But it's hard. I just can't bring myself to hope that he'll love me because I'm so afraid of getting hurt or losing him…" She smiled weakly and tried to change the subject. "So that's why I'm going on a date in 6 days! A member of Blue Pegasus asked me to dinner on Friday night so I accepted. I figured that it would be a step to getting over this Natsu funk." Juvia seemed to take the hint that Lucy no longer wanted to talk about Natsu, and Lucy was relieved at that.

They spent the remainder of their time at the café discussing what Lucy should wear for her date and wondering what other things Darius might have planned for after dinner…


	8. Chapter 7

**For the third time today, hello my lovely readers! **

**Wow. That's all I can say after writing this chapter. This chapter was both difficult and hard to write. Some parts came easily while others were a challenge to work out. But I have to say I'm pretty pleased with the results. **

**I think the hardest part was really portraying the internal struggle Natsu is going through. He really doesn't understand the emotions that he's feeling and just sitting him down and reading him definitions out of a book isn't going to help him. **

**I really hope that ya'll will enjoy this chapter because it's going to set off a whole bunch of events in the story and I'm really excited to write the rest of it. I have a general idea of how I want to end the story, its just creating the events that will result in the ending that I need to work out. I'm trying really hard to make this story as emotional and real as possible. **

**I may or may not post one more chapter tonight after I get back from the gym, so we'll see what happens. **

**On another note I am so happy to read all your reviews and they've really made me feel good about how I'm writing the story. I've gotten a lot of positive feedback and that's been helping to boost my confidence. I'm so excited to hear what you think of this newest chapter. **

**Word of warning, there is some language in beginning of this chapter.**

**As always reviews and suggestions are encouraged.**

**Much love**

**Sabina**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 7<span>

**Natsu's POV**

Burning.

Scorching heat.

Pain.

Confusion.

Natsu had never once associated heat with pain in his entire life. Heat was fire, fire was his strength. Heat was his weapon. He had complete control over it. He loved it, embraced it, trusted it. He was the master of flames, no fire could wound him.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING TO ME?!"

The fire dragonslayer clawed at his belly as he stumbled into an ally. This sensation. It felt so wrong. His very being rejected it.

There was a searing heat in his belly.

His chest burned.

And it **hurt**.

Dear Mavis it hurt.

He collapsed on the ground and curled up into a tight ball, fingers digging into his own flesh as he tried to drown out the internal burning with external pain. Blood welled around his fingers and tears streamed from his eyes.

Why was this happening? Why had his body reacted like this?

He didn't understand.

* * *

><p><strong>Natsu's POV- Earlier<strong>

Natsu walked along the street with his hands behind his head, staring up at the partially cloudy sky. He was on his way to meet with Levy at the library.

He hadn't been able to look Lucy in the eye that morning. He was too confused, too conflicted about his feelings. He knew that he felt something for Lucy. The way his heart leapt when he'd seen her that morning told him that. That didn't happen with anyone else. There was something there, between the two of them. But he didn't quite understand it. Romeo and Levy said it was love. He didn't really know what love was. That was why he had agreed to meet with the solid script mage at the library, so he could learn.

Natsu didn't exactly like reading, but anything was better than this horrible feeling of uncertainty that haunted him. He had to find out why he was feeling this way. He had to understand what his heart was trying to tell him.

After he had run out of the guild he had wandered throughout the streets of Magnolia, not really going anywhere in particular. He just had to walk. Sitting still would lead to thinking. He didn't want to think before his meeting with Levy. He just wanted a few moments of peace before he opened the lid on the maelstrom of these alien emotions.

The walking was doing him a lot of good. He felt calmer, more in control. Observing all of Magnolia and all the different activities that went on throughout the city kept his mind away from what he knew he was going to have to think about later. He smiled, waved, greeted, and conversed with various citizens that he knew as he saw them. They were kind to him. Some noticed that he was not his normal boisterous self, and asked him what was wrong. Many asked if they could help. He just smiled and shook his head. He didn't want to bother these good people with his own personal drama.

The hours ticked by.

He found himself in the shopping district. He knew that Lucy was here somewhere. He hadn't meant to go anywhere near where she was today, but somehow his feet had tricked him and brought him close to her. He could pick up faint traces of her scent outside a few of the shops. He wasn't surprised to catch a whiff of it outside the bookstore and the shop where she bought her writing supplies. Nor was he surprised to smell it outside the shop where she got her food. He continued on down the streets, unconsciously following her scent. As he walked the scent began to get stronger, he was getting close to where she was now.

He sighed resignedly. He might as well check on her. He should probably apologize for being so rude earlier too. She had looked hurt when he had distanced himself from her so quickly, and he felt awful. He sniffed the air and his eyes fell on the door to the clothing store. He could just make out the bright blonde of her hair through the shop's window. A little part of him brightened just at the sight of her beautiful hair. He was reminded of how good it smelt and how soft it was. He couldn't help but smile a little as the door opened and she stepped out. He never got tired of seeing her. He quickened his pace, intending to run up to her and apologize.

He stopped. There was someone with her. He could hear her laughing as she looked back through the door of the shop at the person now following her out. She was smiling brightly, a faint rosy tint to her cheeks. Was she blushing? As he continued to watch her companion came through the door and stood next to her in the sunlight.

It was a man.

A stranger.

Natsu continued to watch as the man said something. Lucy giggled and tucked a strand of that lovely hair behind her ear. His heart clenched, that simple gesture inexplicably more beautiful and radiant than any of the other times he'd seen her do it. He had to get closer, he had to know what they were saying. His heart began to sound very loud in his ears.

_Thump_.

He darted forward at a remarkable speed, his dragonslayer strength helping him to move amazingly quickly. He stopped a few yards away, crouching behind a large stand full of strawberries.

_Thump_.

Strawberries. Lucy always smelled like strawberries and vanilla.

_Thump_.

"I think that I would like that," he heard her say. The man grinned widely. Something about that struck a nerve in Natsu.

_Thump_.

"Excellent! How about we meet at that fancy steakhouse near your guild on Friday?" said the stranger, smiling at Lucy.

_Thump_.

"That sounds great, I'll meet you there at eight," said Lucy.

_Thump_.

The stranger moved.

_Thump_.

He had Lucy's hand in his own.

_Thump_.

The stranger's lips gently brushed the back of Lucy's hand and she blushed.

_Th_-…

There was no thump.

Natsu's heart had stopped.

It felt like an eternity before his heart started back up again. And by then he had already dashed away and around the corner at the end of the street.

He didn't feel it until he stumbled into the ally, clutching at his chest.

* * *

><p><strong>Natsu's POV- Present<strong>

Natsu remained on the ground for a while. The pain had begun to fade, and he slowly started to unclench his hands. He winced a little as he felt the deep scratches he'd made in his own skin sting. His breathing had been ragged, and now it was gradually returning to normal. He stood up shakily.

What had happened? He was so confused. He needed to get to the library to talk to Levy.

He was scared.

He began to run.

* * *

><p>Natsu was out of breath by the time he reached the library. Even in the cool winter air he was dripping with sweat. As he opened the doors to the library he sniffed, searching for Levy's scent. He found it and walked as quickly and as quietly as he could to the little alcove she had settled herself in. She looked up at him as he approached, smiling. Her smile faded when she saw his expression and the sweat dripping from his shaking limbs.<p>

"Natsu what happened?" she said, trying to stay quiet despite the obvious fear and concern in her voice. He couldn't speak at first. He just sat down next to her and stared at his hands. They were shaking. His mind wouldn't work properly. Sensing that he was still distressed, Levy rubbed his back gently and told him to calm down, to breathe. It took a few minutes but finally Natsu was able to explain what he had seen to Levy.

She didn't speak right away. She continued to watch him as the trembling gradually faded away. Eventually she began to speak, slowly and softly in case she startled him.

"Natsu… You said you felt a burning in your stomach and chest right?" she asked, still watching him. He nodded slowly. "And it happened, when that guy kissed Lucy on the hand?" Natsu hissed but nodded again.

He couldn't see it but Levy's eyes softened as she watched him. Her hand left his back and she reached over to close the book she had been reading. She waiting till Natsu nodded for her to go on before continuing.

"It sounds like you were jealous Natsu," Levy said gently. Natsu looked up at her, his eyes glazed over and a confused expression on his face.

"Jealous?" he mumbled. He sounded so weak, so shaken.

* * *

><p><strong>Levy's POV<strong>

Her heart broke at the sound. Natsu never sounded like this. He wasn't supposed to sound like that. The great Salamander, the Fire Dragonslayer, the son of Igneel…. Spoke as if his whole world had ended. And she knew he didn't know why he was feeling like that.

She could see the pain and confusion on his face. He looked afraid. He wasn't used to these kinds of emotions.

She nodded slowly and gently placed her hand on his back again, trying to sooth him. He went back to staring at his hands as they trembled a little. The shaking had pretty much stopped, except for the occasional shiver that passed through his body.

"Yeah… I think that you're jealous. Jealousy is a lot like anger. It upsets us and can make us feel angry or hurt," she said softly. Natsu blinked slowly, then spoke.

"I've been jealous before… But it was nothing like this," he said, just barely above a whisper. "It hurt. It felt like something was tearing away at my insides. I wanted to hit him. I wanted to burn him. I wanted to **kill** him Levy." She gasped a little at that but she knew that he wasn't done. He took a deep breath then continued. "I wouldn't really let myself hurt him… But for a brief instant I wanted that guy dead. Something in me wanted to rip him limb from limb. I'm afraid of that part of me."

Levy sighed as she took her hand away from his back again and sat back in her chair, palms rubbing her face. He waited to see what she would say.

"Natsu. I'm going to give you some books to read," she began. He groaned a little but her expression told him to shut up. She was looking at him intently, as if she was studying his every move. "I'm positive that you love Lucy. What you just told me about has erased any doubt in my mind, not that there was really any to begin with. What you need to do now is learn what it means to love." Natsu opened his mouth, and she knew that he intended to say that he knew how to love, because he had loved Igneel and he loved Fairy Tail. Levy put up a hand and silenced him.

"No Natsu. You don't know what it means to love her in the way that I mean. There are two types of love. The love that you have for your friends and your family, and a love that is reserved for a single person in your life. The love that you have for that one special person in your life is very different from the other kind. It's wilder, more primal. It can make you feel things that you've never felt before. It can scare you. It can drive you to do things that you would normally never do. You need to learn about that kind of love. For your sake, and for Lucy's. She needs to know how you feel."

Natsu balked at this. Levy knew that he didn't want to tell Lucy about how he had nearly ripped someone to shreds just for kissing her hand, and how he had wanted to rush over and forbid her from meeting with that guy. He was terrified that she would be afraid of him, and Levy could understand that.

"But…" he began, but Levy silenced him again.

"No buts. I don't want to hear any excuses. Nothing you can say will change the fact that you need to tell Lucy how you feel. It's the only way to find out if she feels the same way about you," she said sternly. Natsu winced.

"Couldn't you talk to her Levy?" he asked, and she could tell that his mind was frantically searching for an alternative to confessing how he felt to Lucy. Levy's eyes darkened in anger and she smacked him hard on the arm. He stared at her with eyes wide in shock. Levy never hit people like that. She was serious.

"Absolutely not! This is something that **you** need to do Natsu. You love Lucy. And it needs to be you that tells her," she said. Natsu tried to think of something to say but couldn't. He hung his head, defeated.

"So what do I do?" he said, slowly. Levy smiled and patted him on the back. He looked up at her, confused at her sudden change in mood.

"The only thing you have to do on your own is tell her how you feel. And in order to do that you have to understand how you feel. You don't have to do this entirely on your own," she said kindly. "I'll help you. And I won't be the only one. You have a whole guild full of people who would be willing to help you understand your feelings for Lucy. And that is exactly what is going to happen." Natsu's puzzled expression didn't change. Levy laughed and began to gather up all the books she had picked out for Natsu, putting them in her bag. He rose as well, waiting for Levy to explain what she meant.

"Levy?"

The blue haired girl beamed up at him, a look of determination in her eyes.

"We're going to the guild. I've got a job request for Fairy Tail and we're going to need all the help that we can get," she said, pulling him by the arm towards the exit.

"Help? What are we getting people to help us with?" stammered the poor confused dragonslayer. Levy looked back at him and smiled.

"Fairy Tail is going to teach you how to understand your heart Natsu. We're going to teach you what it means to love Lucy," she said, laughing a little at the surprised expression on his face.

"You really think that I can learn to understand it?" he said as they walked out the front doors and onto the street. Levy saw the fear and doubt in his eyes. She took his hand and squeezed it.

"Natsu, you know exactly how unstoppable Fairy Tail is when we have a task to do. We don't even need to provide a reward for this job. Everyone in Fairy Tail knows that you and Lucy are meant to be together and they'd do anything to make it happen," she said, and the sincerity of her words seemed to finally break through Natsu's fears. She grinned as a tentative smile formed on his lips.

"Alright," he said, his voice getting stronger and his face beginning to fill with the some of the determination that he was known for. "I want to understand these feelings. I want to use them to make Lucy happy." He paused, a look of doubt in his eyes again, but it quickly passed and a look of determination and acceptance replaced it.

"I want to love Lucy," he stated, and the hesitation was no longer in his voice. Levy beamed at him.

"That's the Natsu we all know and love! Lets get to the guild!"

They started to run.


	9. Chapter 8

**Hello my lovely readers!**

**I am super excited about the next few chapters that I'm going to be writing. There isn't going to be much happening on the Lucy end of things (maybe a little more daydreaming on her part or some very vivid dreams *wink*), because I really wanted to focus on the Natsu side of the story. I think it makes more sense because Lucy pretty much already knows how she feels, and Natsu is still trying to work through his emotions and understand them.**

**Don't fret there will be more about what Lucy's up to in the days leading up to her big date, but the main action is going to be Natsu's special training.**

**I've got so many good ideas for this story and they're all trying to burst out of my head, so I may be writing another chapter tonight (or two, who knows) once I get back from the gym. The third day of classes only just ended and I'm already stressed to the max so I think I'm going to ruin my workout immediately after I get back by opening up a bottle of wine and letting my creative muse run wild. Tipsy Sabina is much more imaginative than I am so I think I'm going to give her the reins tonight. Hopefully she doesn't go overboard... .**

**Well that's enough rambling from me!**

**I am always grateful for review and suggestions! I hope that ya'll enjoy the chapter 3 **

**Much love**

**Sabina**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 8<span>

**Mararov's POV**

"Well this certainly is an unusual request," said Fairy Tail's guild master Makarov. He sat cross-legged on the bar, his drink halfway to his mouth as he looked at the two mages standing in front of him. Levy was practically shaking with excitement and Natsu looked embarrassed. It was taking a lot of effort to keep from laughing at the young man who was so clearly out of his element.

"Please master?" pleaded Levy, beginning to bounce on the balls of her feet in anticipation. "You of all people know how much Natsu deserves our help on this. Besides, the whole guild thinks that they belong together!" Makarov couldn't stop the smile that began to spread across his face.

"Fairy Tail is always ready to help someone in need, especially if that someone is one of our own," he said, and Levy squealed in excitement. Natsu smiled a little nervously.

"So you're going to help me?" asked the dragonslayer. Makarov was actually proud of the young man for asking for help. He was usually so stubborn and adamant about doing things on his own, and it was nice to see him accept the fact that this was something he needed help with.

"Of course my boy," said Makarov kindly. "Who would I be to deny you your chance at love?" Natsu blushed and Levy giggled. "We're going to need a lot of help on this one brats. Normally requests go on the board but since we can't have Lucy finding out about this I'd better select a group myself to help."

He told Levy and Natsu who he wanted them to find and bring to his office and sent them out to gather the team. He took a long sip of drink and then smiled.

Natsu Dragneel was in love with Lucy Heartfilia. And according to Levy, Lucy was in love with Natsu as well. The solid script had hung back to whisper that juicy bit of information to him, thinking that it would be a nice surprise for Natsu when he finally confessed to her. It was fitting in an odd sort of way. Normally the princess fell for the prince, but it looks like in this story she had fallen for the dragon…

"Ah young love…" he said wistfully.

* * *

><p><strong>Natsu's POV<strong>

Natsu could feel the blush on his face as the last of the team shuffled into the master's office. He wasn't sure how he felt about revealing his secret to all of them. He knew that they would tease him relentlessly, but he supposed it had to be done. His eyes wandered over the group, wondering why the master had chosen them.

Alzac, Gajeel, Laxus, Lisanna, Mira, Elfman, Freed, Evergreen, Gray, Erza, Levy, Jet, and Droy.

He was particularly dreading the reactions from his fellow dragonslayers and Gray… He'd probably have to kick their asses to get them to stop laughing at him. The young man was pulled out of his thoughts by the master clearing his throat.

"Well brats you're probably all wondering why I've called you all in here," said Makarov, and Natsu felt his stomach begin to churn as the dreaded moment approached. There were nods all around the room, and out of the corner of his eye Natsu saw Levy fidgeting in her seat. "One of our own has come forth with a request, and it is of the utmost importance that we do not fail in this mission!"

There was a chorus of mutters at this. It was extremely rare for a mage to formally ask for help from the guild.

"Now I have to tell you that there is no actual physical reward for this job but once I tell you what it is you'll know why," said the master, grinning hugely. The muttering continued, some of it sounding annoyed.

"Come on gramps just tell us what the job is," said Laxus impatiently. "It must be pretty big to need all of us." Makarov nodded and Natsu's stomach clenched. This was it. His secret was about to be revealed.

"This is indeed a big job. I deem it one of the biggest that this guild has even taken on," he said, and some people gasped. Everyone waited, not daring to breath as the master looked at them each in turn before speaking again. "Our mission….." he said slowly, building up the tension in the room. Natsu couldn't take it.

"Oh just please get it over with gramps!" he shouted, his face a deep shade of red. Makarov laughed and apparently decided to humor the stressed dragonslayer.

"Our mission is to help our own dear Natsu Dragneel to confess his love to Lucy," said the master, grinning from ear to ear. There was silence in the room, as everyone absorbed this.

Then everyone burst out laughing. Natsu wanted to run out the door and not stop till he was on the other side of the planet. His face burned as he even considered risking getting motion sick by taking a train away from Magnolia. Anything to get away from the laughter and from the teasing that his was about to receive.

"About time Natsu!" Gray managed through his laughter, wiping a tear from his eye. Natsu stared at him in shock. He hadn't expected that.

"Damn right, it was starting to get annoying seeing you pining after bunny girl, " said Gajeel, smirking at the dumbfounded pyro. All around the room people were nodding and smiling, and there were even a few tears in the eyes of the women in the room. Levy and Lisanna were even doing a little happy dance, and Evergreen and Elfman were hugging (although they quickly realized what they were doing and jumped away from each other, their faces red).

"Wh-… What?" stammered Natsu, at a complete loss for words. "You already knew?!" Everyone in the room laughed.

"Of course we knew Natsu," said Mira, smiling brightly at the young man. "We've all been hoping that you'd figure out your feelings for her for ages now!" Natsu gawked at everyone.

"Now Natsu don't give us that look," said Erza. She was smiling warmly at him. "Just because you couldn't figure out how you felt about Lucy doesn't mean that we didn't. I think it's safe to say that all of us are better at emotion than you are."

Natsu didn't know what else to say. He shuffled his feet and looked away embarrassed. The master cleared his throat and the room fell silent again.

"Well now that you all know what the job is, is there anyone who does not want to participate?" said the Master. Natsu looked around the room, expecting at least a couple of them to back out from this unusual job. To his surprise not one person chose to leave.

"Very well then! Before we send Natsu off to proclaim his love we need to help him fully understand his feelings, as he's still a bit confused as to what love actually is," said the master, there were a few snickers around the room and Natsu blushed yet again. "Now I think that it's going to be best if we split into smaller groups. Each group will be tasked with helping Natsu in a particular way." The master began pointing at people and giving them their instructions.

"Alzac, Jet, Droy, Elfman. You will be in charge of teaching Natsu what it means to love someone." The mages in question grinned and nodded their heads. Natsu could see why the master had chosen Alzac, since he was a married man, but the others? What did Jet, Droy, and Elfman know about love?

"Erza, Gray, Gajeel, Laxus… I'm afraid I'm going to have to give you the roughest task. You're going to be teaching Natsu how to control his jealousy. We don't want him burning anyone once he gets to grips with his new emotions." Gajeel laughed in his odd way, and the others had rather worrying looks on their faces.

"Does that mean we get to piss off Salamder?" asked the Iron Dragonslayer, cracking his knuckles. Makarov nodded and turned to the last group.

"That leaves Levy, Mira, Lisanna, Evergreen, and Freed. Your task is going to be to teach Natsu how to treat a lady. You may also want to work on teaching him how to properly express his feelings. We don't want him just blurting out his feelings. He has to do it right, it's what Lucy deserves."

Natsu just stared around the room, still in a daze from all that he had just heard.

"We have to work quickly brats. We only have six more days before Lucy's date with that lad from Blue Pegasus! We can't let a mage from another guild steal away one of our lovely ladies, especially since she's meant for Natsu!" Natsu thought that his face would soon have a permanent blush stuck to it as the master said that, but he was truly thankful that his guildmates were willing to help him with this. He had remained silent for almost the whole discussion but he now stepped forward to speak to everyone.

"Guys… I don't really know exactly what to say…" he began, searching for the words. Erza stepped forward and put her hand on his shoulder.

"A simple thank you will suffice," she said, and everyone nodded and smiled. Natsu could feel tears starting to form as he looked around at his guildmates. These people were willing to help him through one of the most challenging things he had ever faced and he knew he would never be able to thank them enough. It was going to be hard helping him to understand what his heart was telling him, but they were ready to do whatever it took. He bowed low, the gesture both an expression of thanks and to prevent them from seeing the tears that began to flow down his face.

"Thanks guys!"


	10. News Update 2

**Hello again my darlings! **

**My sincerest apologies for not following through last night and posting another chapter. I got back from the gym and I was just exhausted. My creative mind shut down once I got to the gym...**

**But don't worry! I will definitely be posting chapter nine today! I'm finding myself unable to pay attention in my Icythology class, so I've taken the time to write out a pretty detailed outline for the chapter. I really think that ya'll are going to enjoy this one! It's going to have a wonderfully citrus flavored treat for ya'. ;)**

**There is still a lot more that I want to have happen in this story so expect lots of exciting stuff in the upcoming chapters!**

**As I always say, reviews and suggestions and welcome!**

**I would also like to express my gratitude at the wonderful responses that I've been getting! Your praise has made me more confident about my writing ability, and helped me to really dig deep into my creativity to make this story memorable. I've tried to write in a way that portrays the characters as close as possible to the way Hiro Mashima does, and I hope that I've been successful at that!**

**Sending much love and thanks!**

**Sabina**


	11. Chapter 9

**Hello my lovely readers!**

**Lemme just start by saying HOLY COW THIS TOOK LONGER THAN I THOUGHT. I think that I started writing this around four hours ago? The point is, I totally got sucked into my own little world. Was going to go to the gym tonight before taking a necessary trip to get room supplies but I'm most definitely not going to have the time now. **

**But it was totally worth it! In addition to being the longest chapter so far, I think that this might be one of the best ones that I've written since I started the story. I'm really trying to pull out all the stops when it comes to making this a very emotional work. I'm trying so hard to stay true to the original characters, while also trying to guess what each one would actually do in circumstances like these.**

**As far as what's going on, a lot of things are about to happen. You'll see what I mean once you start reading! I really can't think of much else to say regarding this story...**

**I do however have a request! I am itching to start a second story, and I would like to know what you would like the next one to be about. I've come up with a few ideas that I think I'll be able to do well. I will admit that pretty much all of them will involve lemons and other citrusy goodness... I have accepted the fact that deep down I am a perv. **

**1) A very citrusy Gruvia one-shot **

**2) A romantic lemony Jerza short story **

**3) Not a Fairy Tail fic, but a Soul-Eater MakaxSoul one-shot where soul resonance gets Maka in trouble **

**4) Another non-Fairy Tail one-shot between Naruto and Hinata **

**5) A GaLe short story, still with lemon but more focused on plot **

**6) And my personal preference... A new lemony story between Sting Eucliffe and my own OC character! Unsure of how long I would want it to be but it would involve an OC character who is loosely based off of myself! (I would love to make a fanfic about my OC character and Natsu, but I just don't have the heart to write about him with anyone other than Lucy...) **

**So please leave suggestions!**

**Like I always say, reviews and critiques are encouraged and welcomed!**

**On a side note- nico2883, I not entirely sure what you meant in your review, but I'm guessing you meant to ask why only Natsu was having the rough time and not Lucy... I'm actually going to be addressing that in this chapter, and you'll see that everything isn't going to be a walk in the park for either of them!**

**Sending you all much love**

**Sabina**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 9<span>

**Lucy's POV**

Lucy ended up spending the rest of the day hanging out with Juvia. Their conversation at the café had helped the two women realize that they weren't as different as they had originally thought. The topic had changed from men to literature, both mages realizing that they actually had quite a few favorite authors in common.

When they had finished their meal Lucy invited Juvia to come shopping with her, and the water woman agreed much to Lucy's delight. It was so nice to be having a normal conversation with the blue haired woman, infinitely better than having Juvia menacing her for "flirting with her beloved."

Since Lucy had already gotten herself some new clothes she gave Juvia a hand in selecting styles that would suit her. Juvia blushed and readily tried on the clothes that Lucy had picked out, the celestial mage saying that she thought Gray would like those styles.

Lucy was selecting styles that she knew would catch the ice mage's eye. Juvia had an excellent figure, and while the clothes she wore were very flattering, they weren't what she knew Gray liked on a woman. She had spent enough time with Gray on missions to know his type, and she knew that Juvia's current style was a little too conservative. He only saw one of his guildmates when he looked at Juvia, not the lovely woman that she really was.

"Lucy… Are you sure that Gray-sama will like this outfit?" said the water mage, a little uncertainly. Lucy had enthusiastically pushed her into the changing room when she had found this outfit. She had a feeling that it would be perfect for getting the ice mage to see Juvia for the woman that she was.

"I'm positive Juvia! Now let me see!"

* * *

><p><strong>Later (still Lucy's POV)<strong>

Night was falling when Lucy finally returned home. She was brimming with happiness after the great day she had had. Not long ago she had parted from Juvia, but not before they had decided to take on a small mission together the following day. Juvia needed the reward and Lucy was eager to spend more time with the water mage and further strengthen their friendship so she had offered to help her. The blonde hummed as unlocked her front door and entered, dropping her bag by the door and hanging up her coat. She felt like talking to someone so she selected one of her silver keys and summoned the spirit.

"Open, Gate of the Little Dog! Come Nicola!" she called, and the small form of Plue appeared in front of her. The little creature greeted her enthusiastically, hugging her leg. Lucy laughed and picked up the spirit, cuddling him. He must have sensed that she was in a good mood through her magic. "Hello Plue! You wouldn't believe how great my day was today!"

She set Plue down and began preparing her evening meal, chattering on and on about her day as the spirit followed her around. The little dog-like thing always seemed to enjoy listening to her talk and she was glad for the company.

After finishing her meal Lucy took a long hot bath, still talking away to Plue as he continued to listen. She laughed when the little guy fell into the water, her mind a million miles away from all her worries. Eventually she got out of the bath and put on her pajamas.

The blonde stretched and looked around at her room, her eyes falling on her desk. She had almost forgotten that she had wanted to make some progress on her novel. She bounded over to her desk excitedly and pulled out her writing materials.

She sat there deep in thought as she looked at what she had last written. She was in the middle of writing a romantic scene between the main character and her love interest, and she had been stuck on what to write next for some time now. Her thoughts wandered to one of the fantasies that she had had recently about Natsu and she sighed. She really didn't want to think about her best friend and her unattainable desires for him, but she had to admit that the fantasy that she had in mind would make for some delicious action in her novel.

Knowing that she would regret it later, she picked up her pen and began to write, the vivid images in her mind slowly taking form on the paper.

The tick of the clock and the scratching of her pen were the only sounds in the room for a long time. After a couple of hours she sighed in a tired sort of way and set down her pen. Her eyes glanced briefly over her work and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks before she carefully put away her supplies and got into bed.

A soft knock came at her window, and she sat up. Happy was there, hovering just outside the glass. She reached up and unlatched the window, letting the blue exceed in.

"What's up Happy? Where's Natsu?" she asked, a little worried. It was odd for the feline to show up at her place without the fire dragonslayer.

"Natsu is doing some really intense training for the next few days and needs to be alone," said the blue furball sadly. Lucy knew that he didn't like being away from Natsu, so she patted his head comfortingly.

"Well why don't you go stay with Wendy and Carla?" she suggested, knowing how the little guy felt about the pretty white exceed. Happy's expression got sadder and he sniffled a little.

"Carla's mad at me… I accidentally stepped on her tail today and she got really angry…" he said forlornly. Lucy took pity on the poor lovesick cat.

"You can stay with me…" she said warmly, and Happy brightened up. "As long as you promise not to make a mess or be too annoying!" She added just to be safe, and Happy nodded.

"Aye sir!" he said then curled up on the end of her bed. The little guy must have been exhausted because he felt asleep right away. Lucy smiled at him and yawned. She was ready to go to sleep too.

She shut the window and wriggled back into her favorite place in her bed, and once she was comfortable she lay on her back and stared up at the ceiling. Her mood was rapidly deteriorating as her mind filled with images and thoughts about the man that she so desperately wanted but would never have. She struggled briefly to hold back the tears that were rapidly forming, but soon gave up and let the sobs come freely.

Would she ever get over this? No matter what she did she couldn't smother her feelings for the fire dragonslayer. Sure she could distract herself for a time, but the thoughts and emotions always came rushing back as she waited for sleep to take her.

The celestial mage continued to cry for some time, cursing herself for falling in love with someone she believed would never love her back. Juvia's words of encouragement from earlier echoed in her mind, telling her that it wasn't hopeless and that Natsu did love her, but she couldn't bring herself to believe them.

The woman wondered how long her heart would be able to hold out before it broke completely.

Eventually her eyes drooped closed and her breathing slowed to a steady rhythm. Sleep had finally given her mind relief, but her body still betrayed her emotions…

For a long while after she had fallen asleep tears continued to slowly leak from her closed eyes…

Then the dream began…

* * *

><p><strong>Levy's POV<strong>

Levy was pleased with how the day had gone. Natsu had finally gotten on his way to understanding his feelings for Lucy and soon her would be unknowingly granting her greatest wish by confessing his love. She squealed in excitement and hurried back to Fairy Hills.

As she reached the path that led up to the dorm she spotted another figure approaching. She waved enthusiastically when she saw who it was.

"Juvia! You're out pretty late!" she said, stopping to wait for the other blunette to catch up. "Were you out shopping today?' She added, seeing the bags that the water mage was carrying. Juvia nodded happily.

"Yes! Juvia ran into Lucy today and got some help picking out clothes that Gray-sama might like!" she said, excitement in her voice. Levy looked at the other woman curiously.

"You ran into Lu today? Was it before or after she got asked out by that guy from Blue Pegasus?" she asked, wondering if Juvia even knew about the mystery man.

"Oh it was just after!" said Juvia, quickly stepping through the front door of the dorm as Levy held it open for her. "Lucy told Juvia all about what happened and what their plans were." The water woman jumped as Levy grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her.

"You have to tell me everything!" she exclaimed, wanting to know more about Natsu's love rival. Looking confused but nodding, Juvia allowed the smaller woman to drag her along to her room.

Levy quickly shut the door when they had reached her room and ushered Juvia to a chair, before making a pot of tea and filling two cups.

"Alright Juvia tell me everything! I wanna know all about this guy!"

Twenty minutes later

Levy's mouth was hanging open when Juvia had finished telling her everything that had happened. Did Lucy really thing that her situation with Natsu was that hopeless? She felt a rush of sympathy for her best friend, and her desire to make both mages happy was strengthened.

"So why are you so curious about Lucy's date Levy? Juvia knows that you two are good friends but it seems a little odd to be this into her relationships," said Juvia, eying Levy suspiciously. She was startled again as Levy's leapt to her feet and began pacing, all the while rapidly explaining the whole Natsu situation.

Juvia's eyes looked dangerously close to popping out of her head when Levy told her about the plan to get Natsu to confess to Lucy. She flew out of her seat and grabbed Levy by the shoulders, stopping the smaller woman's pacing.

"What can Juvia do to help?!" she asked excitedly. Levy thought about it for a moment. They pretty much had the Natsu side of things covered…

"Oh I've got it! Juvia, can you keep Lucy's mind on Natsu for the next few days? Do whatever you can to make her think about how Natsu treats her, how he's always protecting her, anything you can think of to convince her that he does have feelings for her!" Juvia nodded vigorously. Levy thought about it a little more then another idea came to her. "Also try to get her thinking that Darius isn't really into her. It's kind of a mean thing to do but we can't let him steal Lu away from Natsu. Remind her that all the men from Blue Pegasus are players, say that you've seen him with other women, make up rumors…. Do whatever you can to make him sound less appealing!"

Juvia agreed to do all of this and whatever else she could to ensure that Lucy would believe Natsu when he finally revealed his feelings for her. Levy knew that the water mage would happily help set the blonde woman up with anyone who wasn't Gray.

"Alright then… Operation NaLu is a go!" exclaimed Levy, and Juvia cheered. They both whipped around when they heard the door burst open behind them. The rest of the Fairy Tail women were standing in the doorway, all of them grinning.

"Excellent idea you two," said Erza, nodding her head at the two bluenettes.

"We heard you mention Natsu and Lucy in the hall and we couldn't help but listen in," said Lisanna, seeing their confused expressions. Levy and Juvia laughed, and soon all of them were suggesting more ways to keep Lucy from falling for Darius…

* * *

><p><strong>Makarov's POV<strong>

Makarov had to admit that he was looking forward to this little job his 'children' were about to take on. He was sitting in his office, going over the day's events in his mind. He cared deeply for all of Fairy Tail's members, but the two lovesick mages held a special place in his heart. They had both been through so much already in their short lives, and he believed that they were both due a great deal of happiness. He would ensure that they would not fail.

He absentmindedly flipped through one of the books that Levy had thought would be useful in getting Natsu to understand his emotions. She had uncovered it in one of the deeper, less frequented sections of the library and she had made sure to grab it before she and Natsu returned to the guild.

"_Dragonslayers: A Compendium of Facts and Legends Pertaining to Dragonslaying Magic and Those Who Utilize It,"_ he muttered, reading the title aloud to himself. The book contained a surprising amount of information on the art of dragonslaying magic. There were sections on its creation, use throughout the ages, and it gave detailed accounts of some of the most notable users of dragonslaying magic. He wasn't surprised to not find any mention of the current dragonslayers, this book was old, almost ancient. He paused when he reached a section on the many changes that mages went through when they began to practice dragonslaying magic.

'_Dragonslaying magic is very wild. Even a master can't stop the physical, mental, and emotional changes that it has on the body. By practicing dragonslaying magic, the mage in question becomes more dragon-like over time. There is even one recored case of a dragonslayer completely transforming into a dragon, utterly forsaking his humanity…'_

"Achnologia," growled Makarov, the memory of the vicious black dragon sending a chill down his spine. He continued to read.

'_However, since there have been no other cases of dragonslayers turning into dragons, it is assumed that there is more to making the complete transformation than just practicing dragonslaying magic. One legend states that there is even a way to keep dragonification from happening no matter what happens. The accounts are vague but most mention a dragon sealing itself inside the body of a dragonslayer, and through unknown means preventing the slayer from transforming. _

_The most common changes that occur when a mage begins to practice dragonslaying magic are:_

_- Increased aggression_

_- Voracious appetite_

_- Strengthening of the senses (sight, smell, hearing, etc.)_

_- Increased endurance, physical strength, vitality, durability, etc…_

Makarov just glanced at these listed changes. He had four dragonslayers in his guild, and he knew most of these already. A few entries further down caught his eye.

'_There are also a few rarer changes that can occur:_

_- Desire to seek out a mate. Dragons are strictly monogamous creatures, only taking one mate for the entirety of their lives. They are very protective of their mates, and will often react aggressively when they believe their mate to be in distressed or in danger._

_- When the dragonslayer's mate has been found, a subconscious mental link is formed between the slayer and mate. Both are completely unaware that the link exists at first, simply believing that they are dreaming on their own. The reality is that during sleep, the slayer and their mate enter a stared dreaming state. This shared dreaming is what helps the slayer to identify and claim his/her mate…_

He stopped reading at that point, his hand resting gently on the page as he stared into space and thought about what he had just read. Natsu had confided in him about his dreams about Lucy before the young man had left the guild for the day. The master was sure that he hadn't been entirely truthful about the content of those dreams, as the boy had been blushing furiously and had refused to make eye contact with the old man as he mumbled something about always being with Lucy in his dreams. That had to be the subconscious connection that the book referred to. And if Natsu was seeing Lucy in his dreams, that meant that she too was seeing the fire dragonslayer in her own. The old man chuckled and shook his head, his spirits lifting even further at this most fortunate discovery.

"Looks like these dreams will make our jobs a little easier," he said to himself, before closing the book and heading home.

* * *

><p><strong>Natsu's POV<strong>

Natsu felt utterly exhausted as he stepped into the house he and Happy shared. It had been such a long, emotionally stressful day and he knew that the next few days would be just as rough. He was so distracted that he yelled in surprise when something small and covered in blue fur rocketed towards him and slammed into his chest.

"NATSU!" yelled Happy, obviously overjoyed to see his best friend. Natsu felt guilty that he had basically ignored Happy the whole day, so he tried to put on a cheerful expression.

"Hey Happy! How was your day?" he asked in a jovial tone, hoping that his voice wouldn't give away how he really felt. But it was futile. Happy knew him too well, and the little exceed instantly gave the young man a look a deep concern.

"What's wrong with you Natsu? You don't seem like your normal self. You were gone all day and you look like you just got kicked inbetween your legs," said the little but feline. Natsu smiled weakly, he really couldn't hide anything from Happy.

"It's a long story buddy… It's gonna take a while to explain," he said, flopping down onto the couch. Happy plopped down on the couch next to the dragonslayer and made himself comfortable.

"Well you better get started then," said Happy, causing a warm feeling to spread throughout Natsu's chest. Happy would always be there for him.

"Well… It's about Lucy…"

* * *

><p><strong>Sometime later (still Natsu's POV)<strong>

Happy had remained silent while Natsu explained everything. The little exceed knew that this wasn't the time for jokes and Natsu really appreciated that. Normally the little blue furball would have teased him relentlessly about being in love with Lucy, but Happy was smarter than he seemed. He saw that Natsu was truly hurting and held his tongue till the young man finished speaking.

"I know you really love Lucy," the exceed said quietly after a while, surprising Natsu. He had expected his friend to ask questions, or to give in to his childish impulses and tease the pyro for being in love. But the blue feline just smiled at Natsu and patted him on the knee. "I'm glad that you're finally going to tell her Natsu. I may be young and I may not be that bright, but I've watched you since we first met Lucy in Hargeon. Everyone in the guild is right, you do treat her in a special way. A long time ago I thought that you loved Lisanna, but ever since Lucy joined the guild I've known that I was wrong. Lucy is someone precious to you, someone you can't live without. You need her Natsu."

Natsu just stared at his little friend in wonder. He never would have imagined Happy reacting like this. The fact that his best friend was speaking calmly and without cracking jokes was a testament to how much the exceed meant what he was saying. The little furball grinned hugely at Natsu as he saw him beginning to cry.

"Oh come on Natsu don't cry," the feline said, his tail wagging much like a dogs. "If you start getting too sappy on me I'm going to **have** to make fun of you!" Tears were falling freely from the young man's eyes, but his laughter revealed that they were tears of happiness. Happy always knew just what to say to cheer him up. He had chosen well when he had named the newborn exceed.

"Thanks pal… I really appreciate it. The next few days are going to be tough but I know I'll get through it with you and the guild supporting me," he said, wiping his eyes. Happy nodded.

"Aye sir! If there's anything I can do to help I'll do it!" said Happy, smiling brightly and jumping up and down in anticipation of the coming events.

"I know you will buddy," said Natsu, getting up. "Lets eat, I'm starving!"

Natsu felt more or less like his usual self as they prepared their food, creating a huge mess in the process. Now that Natsu was feeling better, Happy too had returned to his childlike self. He pestered Natsu with questions he had held back while the slayer was telling his story, and had even given one of his infamous "You loooooovvveeeee her" teases when Natsu had told him more about the moment he had seen Lucy with the man from Blue Pegasus. Happy picked up on the barely contained venom in Natsu's voice when he talked about the stranger.

"You're really worried about this guy aren't you?" said the exceed, yet again astounding Natsu with his perceptive skill.

"I'm worried that he'll try to make a move on her before they actually have their date," said Natsu, his face etched with worry. "You know how those guys in Blue Pegasus are… When they find a beautiful woman they just can't leave her alone." He didn't see that Happy grinned hugely at his use of the term 'beautiful woman.' He didn't even notice that he had stopped referring to Lucy as pretty, or cute. Even before the 'special training' had started, he was already subconsciously accepting the fact that he loved the blonde celestial mage.

"I've got an idea!" exclaimed Happy, shooting up into the air and doing a few loops in excitement at his cleverness.

"What is it?" asked Natsu.

"How about I stay at Lucy's until her date? That way I can let you know right away if something happens! I'll just tell Lucy that you're doing some special training and that you need to be alone so you can concentrate," said the little feline. Natsu high-fived his friend, impressed at this.

"That's a great idea Happy! I mean I actually will be doing special training, but telling her that I need to be alone for it is just the excuse to get her to let you stay at her place! You better say that Carla is mad at you or something too or Lucy will tell you to go stay with her and Wendy," he said, beaming at his little friend. Happy giggled and nodded.

"Aye sir! I'll head over there now!"

"Thanks buddy," said Natsu, glad that he had Happy to count on. Before he left the little blue feline crashed into Natsu's chest again, hugging him tightly. Natsu managed to hold the tears back this time as he embraced his most trusted friend. He waved as Happy flew out the window and zipped through the night air towards town and Lucy's apartment before shutting the door with a little smile on his face.

He really was ready to collapse now. He managed to make it to his bed before his legs gave out and didn't even bother taking his clothes off to sleep. He more tired than he had ever been in his whole life and he had a lot that was worrying him. But he was also happy. He knew that he could get through this because his friends were there to help him. It would be tough, but he knew they wouldn't let him down. He would tell Lucy how he felt, and he would spend the rest of his life making her happy if he could.

His eyes began to droop and he felt himself slipping slowly and peacefully into sleep. Before it had completely overwhelmed him he wondered what Lucy was doing right then. He wondered if she was thinking about him…

Sleep took him…

Then the dream began…


	12. Chapter 10

**...**

**Hello my darling readers...**

**This...was an intense chapter to write... As you read in the last chapter, this is a dream that both Natsu and Lucy are unknowingly sharing. Natsu's dragonslayer magic makes him more dragon-like, and one of the affects is that when he is searching for his true mate he shares dreams with her. As you may have guessed his true mate is Lucy. **

***********I would like to explain one thing about this dream state before you read this chapter!***************

**In the dream state, the subconscious desires of the slayer and mate are fully accepted by the slayer and mate. When the two wake up, they will remember the dream but they won't feel any real change to themselves, if that makes sense. **

**Now then... Back to my usual spiel... **

**THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SOME PRETTY INTENSE CITRUS! **

**My face is still kinda read from writing this and I'm fervently hoping that people I know don't read this unless I let them. **

**I am EXTREMELY pleased with how this turned out. I really tried to put as much emotion and passion into this as I could and I think that I did it justice. **

**I'm going to keep this brief so you can get to reading this cause I'm desperate to hear what you all think of it!**

**Please leave a review and let me know what you think!**

**Much love**

**Sabina**

* * *

><p><span>**Important note: Since this chapter jumps back and forth between Natsu's and Lucy's points of view, I decided that I would have <strong>Natsu's POV in bold <strong>and _Lucy's POV in italics_. Normal text means general POV.

Chapter 10

_Lucy hummed as she sat at her desk and wrote. She felt happy for some reason. She knew that she had been upset recently, but she couldn't remember why. It was if all her worries and problems had become faded and indistinct. She was content to simply sit there and write. The quiet tick of the clock and the scratch of her pen sounded like music to her ears and her heart was filled to the brim with contentment. _

_The minutes trickled by, the light outside fading into a lovely evening. A light breeze flowed into the room, filling the room with a pleasant scent. It was partly a mixture of the cooking from many different restaurants, and something a little stronger…cinnamon? Wait… Had she left the window open? She got up and turned towards the window, wondering when she had opened it, but she froze when she saw the dark shape crouching on the windowsill. _

_She wasn't afraid. She knew that shape better than anyone. That tousled pink hair, strong arms that always comforted her when she was upset and protected her when she was in danger, the sculpted abs she ached to run her hands over… She slowly moved over to the bedside, stopping and looking him in the eyes._

"_Natsu…"_

**He loved the way she said his name. Her voice sounded like beautiful music to him. He would never ever get tired of hearing it. He wanted to hear that sweet voice every day for the rest of his life. He leapt into the room, his movements lithe and graceful. He stood in front of her and looked into her eyes. Her dangerously lovely eyes… He could get lost in them and never find his way out, but he would be happy for all eternity. He raised a hand tentatively, his eyes searching hers for something… He wasn't sure what it was but he knew he had to wait. He had to wait for her approval.**

_His obsidian eyes seemed to bore into hers with an intensity that left her breathless. Oh how she loved that look. She could see many emotions swimming in the depths of those eyes. Excitement, anticipation, curiosity, fear, longing, lust….love…._

_She watched as he raised his hand, stopping it a little ways from her cheek. He seemed to be asking her permission, uncertainty and a little bit of fear becoming the most dominant emotions in his eyes. He wouldn't do anything unless she gave him permission. If she said no, she knew he would leave without a fuss and they would go back to their normal lives the next morning._

_She didn't want him to leave. She wanted him to stay. A small smile touched her lips, warmth filling her heart and tears of happiness threatened to fill her eyes. She gave the smallest of nods. _

_His hand moved slowly, gently. It seemed like hours before she felt his fingertips finally brush against her cheek. She sighed into the touch, closing her eyes and bringing her own hand up to cover his. Just that simple touch gave her all the happiness in the world. _

"_Natsu…" she whispered, as she opened her eyes. She caught a brief look of utter joy and love on his face…before his lips were suddenly on hers; kissing her with so much tenderness it caused her heart to flutter and her legs to go weak._

**Nothing in the world mattered anymore. Nothing else existed for him except for her. This wonderful, beautiful woman. She hadn't pushed him away. She had given him the one thing he had longed for, the one thing he couldn't live without. **

**Her lips were plump and luscious, and he pulled her into his arms and clung to her as if he were a drowning man who had been moments away from death only to be saved at the last instant. He didn't make any other moves just yet. He just held her, exploring her lips with gentle movements. She responded to his kiss eagerly, but also with some shyness. He wasn't going to rush this. Not this.**

_Lucy didn't think that her heart would be able to take this. It was filled to the brim with so much love for this beautiful man and joy that he was finally hers that she felt certain that it would burst. She would perish, but it didn't matter because she had already gotten everything that she had ever needed out of life._

_She knew that he wasn't going to push her. If this was all she wanted he would stop there. But she needed more. She needed to have more of him._

_The blonde woman snaked her slender arms around the neck of the draygonslayer. Her lips pressed against him with a renewed intensity, silently pleading him to give her more. Her body thrummed with desire as he responded eagerly, deepening the kiss and threading his fingers through her hair. _

**The effort it took to hold back was almost too much for him. ****She was asking him for more and he gladly gave it. Her lips tasted of strawberries and something uniquely Lucy, and her scent was all around him. The heady rush it gave him was better than even the most delicious and strong flames he had ever eaten. Better even than Igneel's. He could live happily and healthily on just the taste of her lips forever. **

**He had to have more. He slowly, gently flicked her upper lip with his tongue, asking for her to give him a most generous gift. His heart soared when she gave a faint whimper and parted her delectable lips. His tongue greedily swept into her mouth and he was overwhelmed with the marvelous flavor of her. She was sweet and succulent, and he knew that nothing in the universe would hold a candle to the taste of her. **

**Her hair was silky and soft, flowing through his fingers, which were tingling from the sensation. He trailed one hand slowly down her back, needing to explore every inch of her. She made no move to stop him, so he continued. Stroking his left hand over her back, her shoulder, her hip, the silky smooth skin of her arm.**

_Natsu's hand left trails of fire along her flushed skin. Every nerve his rough fingers passed over thrummed and responded to the touch, her body coming alive as he gently explored her. _

_She couldn't hold back the groan when his tongue lightly brushed against hers, testing to see if she was ready for more. She responded without hesitation, tangling her tongue with his and grasping the back of his neck, gently stroking the nape of his neck. She felt him shiver at her touch and he began to hungrily lick into her mouth, first suckling her tongue, and then gently biting her lower lip. She moaned as his teeth gently scraped the soft skin of her lip, and she pressed herself against him more tightly, needing more contact with him._

_It felt like their lips had been locked together for millennia, although she knew it had been less than a minute. She reluctantly pulled away from the kiss as she suddenly became aware of her lungs burning from lack of oxygen. _

_They both stood there panting, still holding each other tightly. She could see the intense lust burning in the depths of his eyes and she could feel the energy radiating from his body. It excited her, causing warmth to pool in her belly and her core to tingle. She knew that he wanted to go slow for her, to make everything perfect. But it was already perfect because it was him. Lucy leaned forward, getting up on the tips of her toes so she could gently brush her lips against his ear._

"_Natsu, you don't have to hold back," she whispered, unable to resist the temptation to flick her tongue out and sweep it over the shell of his ear. She felt him shudder violently._

**This woman was giving him everything, and she didn't even know it. He was unworthy to receive the gifts that she was giving him, but she still gave them. He was desperate to find his foster-father Igneel, but deep in his heart he knew that what she was giving him now was more fulfilling than seeing the dragon again would ever be. Natsu loved Igneel more than life itself. But the love he felt for Lucy was worth even more than his very soul. **

"**Lucy," he breathed, cupping her face in his hands. He stared into those beautiful brown eyes. "I want to do this right. I don't want to mess this up," he said, wanting her to understand just how important this was to him. He had never been a gentleman before, and he wanted to show her that he could change for her. She seemed to understand what he was thinking and shook her head, smiling.**

"**I don't need you to be a gentleman Natsu. You don't need to change for me. I want the real you," she said, pressing a brief and chaste kiss to his lips. His heart melted at her words. She accepted him for who he was, and that made him love her even more than ever, something that he thought was impossible.**

"**Lucy," he whispered and gently picked her up. He held her for a few seconds, content to merely have her in his arms. But the contentment didn't last for long. He was burning up on the inside and he knew that the only way for him to bank those fires was to immerse himself in her tender embrace. **

**He gently laid her down on the bed before lowering himself onto the soft mattress next to her. She turned on her side to face him, a stray strand of hair falling across her face. He faced her as well, his head propped up on his elbow and he gently tucked the shining strands behind her ear. **

**Natsu leaned forward and kissed her again, more demanding than he had been before. She had given him permission to be himself, and he was going to give her everything that he was. He pulled her flush against him, his lip curling into a smile against her lips as he heard her gasp. He allowed his hands to roam more freely, letting them skim swiftly over her back and down to cup her delectable rear. He squeezed and she let out a weak moan. She hadn't really realized what she had gotten herself into when she had told him to be himself. In nearly all his fantasies of her he had loved to tease her to the breaking point. He didn't think he'd be able to tease her for long this time though… He didn't have the strength to stretch it out. **

_Lucy's whole body responded to even the slightest touch Natsu gave her. Her heart had nearly stopped when he squeezed, and she knew that he was going to make her burn for him. Making things burn was his specialty after all…_

_But she couldn't wait. She skimmed her hands up his stomach and chest, delighting in the feel of the hard muscles of his chest that were cloaked in skin that was softer than she had imagined it would be. Her fingers lightly traced the scar on his side before she moved her hands to his shoulders and began to push his vest off. She heard him growl a warning but she didn't care. He would have plenty of opportunities to tease her later. She planned on letting him every day for the rest of their lives if that was what he wanted. _

_She threw the vent on the floor and began to reach for his waistband but his hands caught her wrists. _

"_Lucy…. Not yet," he rasped, and she pouted. Her pout vanished when she felt his hands lifting her own shirt up, and she eagerly helped him to get it over her head. She was glad that she hadn't put on a bra when she had gotten out of the shower. She heard the fire dragonslayer groan as he looked at her, and she flushed with embarrassment and tried to cover herself. His hands stopped her again and his lips crashed against hers again, taking her breath away and putting her embarrassment out of her mind. _

"_Don't hide from me Lucy," whispered Natsu. His voice was strained, and his hands were trembling. Lucy nodded and lowered her hands. She blushed as he stated at her, lying there half naked. She was about to tell him to stop staring when he moved. His hand gently cupped one of her breasts and she felt her mind go blank, and a gasp escaped from her lips. Her reaction seemed to encourage him, because he began to thoroughly explore every inch of her uncovered skin. _

_It was the sweetest of torture. His rough hands created delicious friction on her skin, and the warmth of them was doing all sorts of good things to her body. She didn't think that it could feel any better than it already did. Turns out that she was wrong._

_She had to bite back a scream when she felt his fingers brush against her nipples. Every nerve in her body reacted to his touch, and her back arched, instinctively telling him that she needed more. _

_Her breath began to come in rapid pants as he continued to caress her breasts. She had rolled onto her back and he now crawled on top of her, his legs on either side of hers and his left arm supporting his body so he wasn't crushing her. She squirmed and she heard him chuckle softly. _

"_Natsu don't tease me….. Ahhhhhh!" She couldn't help the yell as his lips closed over her left peak. She was overwhelmed by the sensations rushing through her body, and she couldn't keep the little noises that were escaping her contained. She felt an answering pull deep within her whenever Natsu sucked on her nipple. It was almost too much for her. His tongue swept over the rosy peak and she let out a moan, her hands threading into his hair and pulling him tighter into her breast. He growled low in approval and gently bit down on her. _

_Lucy screamed that time. Her limbs shook and her hips lifted off the bed, desperately trying to get more contact with him. The dragonslayer chuckled again and switched his attention to her other breast, giving it the same treatment. Lucy could only lie there and moan, her body trembling. She was so lost in the sensations that she didn't notice when he took his lips away and replaced them with his hand. She didn't notice when he kissed his way down her body to the hem of her shorts. Lucy was lost in a whirl of lust and pleasure. _

_It was when Natsu cupped her through her panties that she realized he had already pulled her shorts off. _

"_Natsu!" she moaned loudly, his hand scorching against her core. He chuckled and moved back up her body to kiss her deeply, his hand remaining where it was. He pressed soft kisses to her neck and he began to gently stroke her through the thin fabric of her panties. _

"_Shhh Lucy…. I won't make you wait too long," he purred. Lucy trembled at his tone. She hadn't known that this Natsu existed. This Natsu was so different from the naïve young man she had come to know and love. She was amazed that he had managed to keep this side of himself hidden from everyone. This Natsu radiated sexual desire, and she loved everything about him. Lucy whimpered and tried to reach down to strip Natsu of the rest of his clothes. He chuckled and pressed a finger against her covered nub, making her gasp and distracting her from her task. _

"_Not yet. I can't wait much longer, but I can at least give you a little treat first…" he said huskily against her neck. He began to kiss the smooth column again his hand slowly rubbing her core causing her to wriggle in frustration. She moaned loudly when he began to suck on her neck, leaving dark marks, but she didn't care. His teeth scraped against her collarbone and she thought that she would cry from the pleasure when he gently bit down. _

"_Natsu please!" she cried out, needing something, anything more than what he was already giving her. The young man gave a final long lick up her neck before giving in and kissing his way down her flushed body. He slowly pulled her panties down her hips, and once he had gotten them off he tossed them across the room. She was bare for him now, and she could see the hunger in his eyes growing. _

_Lucy nearly screamed again as he slowly brushed a finger against her entrance. He chuckled darkly and smiled at her roguishly. _

"_So wet Lucy," he purred, continuing to tease her entrance. "You can't wait much longer can you?" Lucy shook her head and moaned. Natsu chuckled again as he slowly pushed one strong digit into her dripping entrance. _

_Lucy was fighting to hold back tears as ecstasy tore through here. Just that one digit was giving her such intense sensations. She longed to find out what it would feel like when he took her for real. He continued to tease her, watching her grow more and more aroused as he first added a second and then a third digit. She didn't know how much more of this she could take before she came apart. _

_Natsu didn't wait long to show her. He removed his hand from between her legs, making her groan at the loss. She began to protest, but her words turned into a long scream as she felt his tongue give a long slow lick of her core. Her vision blacked out for a brief second as her body exploded in pleasure. That one lick had nearly brought her to her climax, and she knew that if he did anything more she was a goner. The fire mage must have guessed that because his face was suddenly buried between her legs, and she was shrieking in ecstasy. His tongue was hot as he explored her, finding every spot that made her legs quiver and her voice break. His lips found her sensitive bud and suckled and she could feel her peak nearing. _

"_Natsu!" she screamed, clutching at his hair. He redoubled his efforts, alternating between swift licks and hard sucks. _

"_Come for me Lucy," she heard him say huskily, before his lips closed on her bud once more and give a long, hard pull. _

_She broke. Her orgasm flooded through her and she moaned louder than she ever had. Her body shook with waves of pleasure and she could only lie there as she rode out her climax. Finally after what seemed like ages her body came down from its high. Her breath came in short gasps and a thin sheen of sweat covered her body, but she still wanted more._

"Natsu. Please. I can't take it anymore," she pleaded.

**That was it. The combination of seeing her release and those words made him snap. He had already been close to his breaking point. Her moans and movements had been steadily driving him into a frenzy; and when he had tasted her sweet juices he had only restrained himself because he wanted her to come first. She tasted impossibly better here and he lost himself in the sweetness. He wanted to give her as much pleasure as he could, and that alone kept him from having her right at that second. **

**But now he couldn't wait any longer. He swiftly got up from the bed and shed the rest of his clothing, nearly ripping them in his haste to get them off. Once he had he practically leapt back onto the bed, holding himself above her, his knee wedged between her slick thighs. **

**She expression was still dazed from her release, lips slightly parted and eyes half lidded. She looked more beautiful then than she ever had in the entire time that he had known her. **

"**Natsu," she crooned, encircling his neck with her arms and pulling him down for a deep kiss. He momentarily forgot his burning lust as she kissed him. His world condensed down to the point where their lips met. This was heaven.**

**They pulled apart and he gave her a questioning look. He had to make sure that she was ready. He knew that this would hurt her, and he didn't want to do anything she wasn't prepared for. He was painfully aroused. His member ached to be inside her and he would be devastated if she changed her mind. **

"**I'm ready Natsu," she whispered, cupping the side of his face with one hand. She laid the other over his heart. He kissed her once more, pouring all of his passion and love into it, as he slowly pushed himself into her tight core. **

**Keeping himself from madly thrusting into her was the hardest thing he had ever done. He didn't break their kiss, sweeping his tongue into her mouth to wrestle with her tongue as he felt himself against her thin barrier. He kept her distracted with the kiss as he suddenly pushed forward and broke through. He felt her wince and he opened one eye enough to see that tears were forming in the corners of her eyes. He waited, gentling his kiss as the pain faded and she grew accustomed to him. **

**Eventually she broke the kiss and nodded at him, indicating that she was ready. Slowly he pulled himself out of her until just his tip remained in her warmth. Then he began a slow, steady rhythm. He barely heard her gasps of pleasure as the feel of her around him sent him into his own personal Nirvana. No words could describe the feeling of her around him. **

**He slowly increased his pace, thrusting into her as deeply as he could. She was moaning again, her eyes shut in rapture as he pushed them towards their release. Her legs wrapped around his waste and he gently lifted her hips with one hand. The new angle allowed him to hit deeper inside her and he cried out at the new sensation, a hoarse groan escaping from his own lips. **

"**Lucy," he panted. He began to feel a tingling at the base of his spine. Sweat coated his limbs. His thrusts began to get faster and harder, fueled by the intense pleasure he was feeling and the sounds that Lucy was making. "Oh Lucy! I'm… Close…" he growled, feeling her walls squeeze around his length. **

"**Me..ha…too…" she panted, struggling to form the words as the intense feelings began to become too much for her. He increased his pace again, wanting to push her over that edge and make her his. **

"**Come for me Lucy," he rasped. "Come with me." She began to moan his name loudly her eyes tightly shut, every utterance of his name accelerating his impending release. He was only a few more seconds away. He cupped Lucy's face, desperate for one more thing before he came apart. "Look at me Lucy!" he begged, desperately fighting off his release. He had to see her as she came undone. She had to see him. She had to see his face and know that she was his forever. Her eyes flew open, instantly locking with his. They held that contact for an instant, but it felt like a hundred years… **

"**NATSU!" wailed Lucy, her walls suddenly pulsing and clenching around him as she teetered on the brink of heaven.**

"**LUCY!" he roared, milliseconds away from his end. **

**He crashed his lips down on hers just as their eyes began to close.**

They both shattered.

Their orgasms silently ripped through both of their bodies and they came apart. They both shook violently; Lucy's orgasm wracking her body with waves of ecstasy, while Natsu released himself inside of her warm passage. The room wasn't filled with loud screams and moans, but that was no indication of what both of the young lovers was feeling. Faint sounds of intense pleasure came from them as they rode out their release, their lips locked together in the throes of their passion. Eventually the tremors that wracked their bodies ceased. Their lips broke apart and they both gasped for air, panting heavily. Sweat coated their bodies, the smell of sex heavy in the room.

Natsu's head dropped down onto Lucy's shoulder as he took ragged breaths. The pounding of their hearts was clearly heard by both of them as they found their way back to sanity. They were silent for a time, not having the strength or desire to move.

"Lucy," whispered Natsu after a while, his voice hoarse. Lucy didn't say anything. She knew he wasn't finished, and she waited for him to continue. She was surprised when she felt his body begin to tremble a little again.

"Natsu?" asked Lucy, concern in her voice. He slowly raised his head, his sweaty hair plastered to his forehead, hiding his eyes. She felt something drip onto her chest above her heart. It was a tear. The proud dragonslayer began to sob in earnest as he lifted his eyes to meet hers, tears flowing down his face.

"Lucy I love you!" he cried, his voice filled with love and longing. There was nothing in the world that mattered more than the beautiful woman lying beneath him. He couldn't live without her. He watched her face as she processed what he had just said. His heart broke when he saw tears begin to flow down her face as well. Lucy began to cry and clutched the young man to her, all the pent up emotion she had been suppressing bursting out.

"I love you too Natsu!" she sobbed, gripping him tightly and never wanting to let go.

Over and over they repeated the words to each other, pressing soft kisses to cheeks, foreheads, lips…. They both murmured sweet nothings to each other as Natsu pulled the blankets over them. He clutched Lucy to his chest and she held onto him tightly.

Soon they had both drifted off into sleep…

* * *

><p>It was a few hours before dawn when both mages awoke with a start in their separate homes, both breathing heavily and with shaking limbs.<p>

"It was just a dream…" they murmured in unison before falling back into fitful sleep.


	13. News Update 3

**Hello my lovelies!**

**I've been updating almost every day and I just wanted to let ya'll know that I probably won't be posting again until tomorrow unfortunately! My original plan was to get out a chapter yesterday but a few things got in the way! **

**Firstly...Sabina went out Friday night and had a little too much to drink so Saturday morning was a bit of a struggle, and I forgot to bring my laptop with me when I came home for the weekend... Then I was going to go back to school today but my mother needs help with our horses tomorrow morning so I won't be going back**** school till then. And finally I seem to have developed an absolutely awful cold that will probably be around for a few days by the feel of it...**

**So basically a lot has gone down the past couple days and that's why I haven't gotten a chance to post at my normal rate! I will however try to get another chapter out tomorrow once I get back to school since I'll probably spend most of the day in bed trying to get rid of this darn cold...**

**So fear not my dears more is on the way! **

**Lots of love**

**Sabina**


	14. Chapter 11

**Hello my darling readers!**

**So sorry for making this chapter so short... I'm still feeling really under the weather and it was difficult enough just to get this little bit out... The chapter still went how I wanted it to... Not to give anything away but I'm only really going to be going into detail on the controlling jealousy portion of Natsu's training... I'm saving the romantic stuff for the real deal! ;) I won't let you guys down, you'll get the cuteness you're craving. **

**I've been watching Fairy Tail all day (watching the episode where Frosch gets lost right now and squealing at all the cuteness, it's too much to handle), so I'm super excited to get this story finished... But for those of you that read the manga and are caught up to chapter 416 you'll understand why I'm kinda in tears about this latest chapter... T^T Fairy Tail really knows how to get ahold of all of my feels... I'm already dying for the next chapter and I just read the new one this morning! *heart breaks into little pieces***

**Anyway, I'll stop my sickness-induced rambling and let ya'll get on with reading! Again, I'm sorry about the shortness of the chapter and if it isn't up to my usual standards! I promise that I'll try and make the next one better! I'm taking lots of meds and doing everything I can to get over this cold!**

**Lots of love**

**Sabina**

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><p><span>Chapter 11<span>

_Five Days Till Lucy's Date_

**Natsu's POV**

Natsu yawned as the entered the guildhall. He had had a vivid dream about Lucy the night before. He blushed as he remembered how he and Lucy had been intimate… He remembered every exquisite detail of Lucy's body and how amazing everything had felt, but he couldn't remember anything that either of them had said…. He thought that it was strange….

"Natsu!" someone called to him, and he stiffened as he recognized that lovely voice. He turned slowly and his eyes found her. She really was beautiful when she smiled…

"Oh… Hey Lucy!" he called back, trying to sound like his normal self so she wouldn't be suspicious. She ran up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder, he felt his body flush as she made contact with his bare skin. He really **really **hoped that she wouldn't notice.

"I'm going out on a job with Juvia today, so don't wait up for me! You just focus hard on your training!" she said, smiling at him sweetly. Natsu nodded at her and she gave his shoulder a little squeeze before heading over to join the blue-haired water mage. Natsu watched her as she began to animatedly talk with Juvia, and as he did his eyes met with the blunettes. She smiled at him and gave him a knowing wink. Juvia must be in on the whole plan as well… Natsu was glad, it would be nice to have someone other than happy keeping an eye on Lucy. He waved at them as they exited the guildhall, hope forming in his chest as he thought of all the support that the guild was giving him.

"Alright then," he muttered to himself. "Time to get this special training underway…" He quickly located the group that was to help him on this first day… The ones who would be helping him what it truly meant to love someone. He walked up to them and the greeted him as he sat down.

Alzac, Jet, Droy, and Elfman… He really didn't know how they were supposed to teach him to understand his feelings for Lucy…

"So Natsu," said Alzac, smiling warmly at the younger mage. "Our job is to get you to understand how you feel about Lucy." Natsu nodded, still feeling skeptical.

"Not to sound like a jerk or anything," said the fire mage, being oddly polite. "But I'm not so sure about the Master's choices for this group… I mean I get Alzac cause he's married, but what do you three know about love?" he asked, pointing at the two members of Shadow Gear and the take-over mage. He was surprised when they all laughed at him.

"You've got to be kidding us Natsu!" said Jet, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. "I mean it's not that surprising cause you've never been good at noticing stuff like this, but surely you would have picked up on the fact that we're all madly in love!" Natsu stared at them in silent bewilderment.

"WHAT?" he shouted, causing everyone in the hall to laugh. "W-what do you mean you all are in love?" He stammered, utterly confused. Alzac, Jet, and Droy just continued to laugh while Elfman stared at his mug, looking a little embarrassed.

"Looks like we're going to have to spell it out for you Natsu," managed Droy, holding his sides. "You see, Jet and I have both been competing for Levy's affection for years!" Natsu stared at them, dumbfounded.

"Are you guys being serious? You're both in love with Levy? How have you not beaten the crap out of each other yet?" he said, wondering at how he had not noticed this before.

"Well that's because we want Levy to decide who she wants on her own," said Jet. He and Droy gave each other a knowing look, which seemed to Natsu to be tinged with a bit of sadness. "Even if she chooses someone other than us."

"I suppose that makes sense…" said Natsu, his eyes fell on Elfman. "But who are you in love with?" he asked the take-over mage. Elfman's face reddened and he gritted his teeth.

"Do I really have to tell you guys?" he said, obviously uncomfortable.

"Come on Elfman," teased Alzac, winking at the others. "A real man wouldn't be afraid to admit his true feelings." A vein began pulsing on Elfman's forehead as his manly pride was questioned. After a few moments he grumbled out his answer.

"Evergreen…" Natsu balked at this.

"You're joking!" he scoffed. Elfman shook his head solemnly. "Wow… That's great Elfman," he said, really thinking that the big guy was taking on more than he could handle, falling in love with the fairy-obsessed woman.

"Enough about us Natsu! Lets get started on you!" said Droy, clapping the young man on his shoulder.

Natsu had a feeling that it was going to be a very long day…

Several hours later they had made little to no progress.

"I just don't get what these books are trying to say!" raged Natsu, throwing what felt like the fiftieth one across the table. The other men were looking tired and exasperated, all frustrated with the dragonslayer's inability to understand the words written on the page.

"It can't be that hard to understand Natsu!" groaned Jet, passing a hand over his eyes in frustration. "All you have to do is read the words on the page!" The fire dragonslayer glared at him and growled.

"Easy for you to say! Readin' hasn't ever been one of my strengths! I do so much better with my fists!" he said angrily. This was getting them nowhere. "I like things laid out simply!"

"That it!" exclaimed Elfman, slamming his fist down onto the table, startling the others. "We just need to lay things out simply for him!"

"Could it really be as easy as that?" wondered Alzac. Droy shrugged.

"It's worth a shot," said Jet. "Alright Natsu, we're going to lay things out clearly for you."

_Twenty minutes later_

"YES! That's it Natsu you get it!" exclaimed the small group. They all hugged the beaming dragonslayer as he yelled in triumph.

"It all makes sense to me now! All those feelings… I get them!" he said, a blush staining his cheeks.

"We knew you could do it!" said Alzac, relieved that they had finally broken through the young man's thick skull.

"You're a real man now for admitting your feelings!" roared Elfman, picking up the fire mage and squeezing him in a bear hug.

"You're..crushing me!" croaked Natsu, causing the other men to laugh.

"Well you all seem to be in a cheerful mood!" said Master Makarov, approaching the small group. They all nodded in unison.

"I understand them master, the feelings that I have whenever I look at Lucy," said Natsu, smiling a bright smile full of joy. "I never realized it before…but my whole world revolves around her!"

"Glad to see you've finally caught up to the rest of us in knowing that!" said the master, and Natsu scowled. "Part one of your training is over, but tomorrow you'll face another more difficult part. Now that you understand your feelings of love for Lucy you have to keep yourself from going overboard. Jealousy is a powerful emotion… You don't want it taking control, cause you may end up hurting the one you love by mistake."

Natsu nodded, his heart squeezing at the thought of hurting the woman that he loved.

"I'm ready!"

* * *

><p><strong>Lucy's POV<strong>

She had finally returned home for the night, tired but happy with how the day had gone. She had really enjoyed her bonding time with Juvia, even though the water mage had said some things that had gotten Lucy a little bit irritated…

The water mage had insisted on pestering her with dozens of questions about Darius. What had he been like? What did she know about him already? Had she heard this rumor or that one… It was really off-putting, and she hated to admit it but it was making her question her choice of agreeing to go out with the Blue Pegasus mage… Juvia had also been constantly pestering her about her feelings for Natsu…

Lucy sighed as she stretched her legs out in her bath. The mission hadn't been too difficult but her muscles were sore from the exertion of beating up the group of thugs they had been paid to capture. She slid down in the bath until her eyes were just above the water level.

Why did Juvia have to keep bringing up her feelings about Natsu…? She had been so persistent… Asking all sorts of questions about the depths of her feelings for the fiery mage, even managing to get details about last night's dream from the exasperated celestial spirit woman.

Lucy flushed at the memory of Juvia's teasing about the dream. The water mage hadn't passed much judgment on her, admitting that she had similar dreams about Gray, but Lucy had still blushed deeply with embarrassment.

She wished that she had been able to remember what the Natsu in her dream had said to her…


	15. Chapter 12

**Hello my lovely readers!**

**This is another short chapter, but never fear! This will NOT be the only chapter that I am going to be posting today! This chapter, while essential to the plot, is just a little something I threw together while in class today. I'm still feeling a little out of it so it's still not quite on par with my best work, but I think that it still worked out pretty well. **

**There are going to be a few more dream chapters like this, and I hope that you're going to enjoy them! The chapter after this will not be a dream chapter, but there will be more!**

**I'm still kind of reeling from the latest manga chapter... I really don't know what Mashima is thinking, but I get the feeling that there are going to be some really emotional chapters coming up!**

**Also! I am beginning on a new work tonight! I decided to combine two of the ideas that I put forth and do a citrusy story about my OOC character and Sting, with some GaLe scenes thrown in to spice things up! I'm going to begin work on that story after I finish my other chapter for this fic tonight.**

**As always reviews and suggestions are welcome! I hope that you enjoy this chapter even though it's short!**

**Much love**

**Sabina**

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><p><span>Chapter 12<span>

_She was dreaming again… Some part of her knew that. Lucy was standing in a lush, green field under the shade of a large cherry tree. The soft pink petals were waving softly in the breeze as she walked over to the trunk and sat down. She inhaled the sweet aroma and sighed in contentment, letting her eyes shut as she relaxed. She felt at peace._

_Lucy heard the footsteps approaching, but didn't open her eyes. She didn't need to. She knew those footsteps and that slight cinnamon scent better than anyone._

"_Natsu," she breathed, smiling slightly._

"**Hey Lucy," said the pink haired mage, not able to help the smile that spread across his face. She looked so beautiful sitting there under the tree's shade, the breeze catching her long blonde hair and causing it to glimmer in the warm sunlight. **

**He sat down next to her and leaned in, pressing a kiss to her sweet lips. He could feel her smile into the kiss and return it eagerly. There was less urgency in this kiss, less primal need. It was just a greeting.**

"**So you do remember," said Natsu, breaking away. She still didn't open her eyes but she nodded at him. **

"_Of course I do," she teased. "How could I forget?" She leaned on his shoulder and sighed again, loving the warmth of him and the faint cinnamon smell of his skin. She could stay there forever and be happy to do so._

"_I wonder why we don't remember everything from these dreams when we are awake…?" she wondered aloud. She felt Natsu shrug, then felt his warm arm slid around her shoulders to hold her close against him. She smiled at that and snuggled into his embrace._

"**I don't know Luce," he said, his curiosity taking a back seat as she got closer to him. Nothing really bothered him when he was with her. All his cares seemed to drift away.**

**They sat in silence for a long time, the gentle sounds of nature calming Natsu and bringing a sense of peace to his being.**

**He grumbled a little when she sat up and looked at him, obviously still intent on figuring out why they had no memory of what was said in their dreams while they were awake. He attempted to pull her back into his arms, not wanting to have his brief time with her interrupted with thinking. **

"_Come on Natsu you must be a little bit curious," she pushed. Natsu just grumbled again and shuffled around so his head was lying on her lap. She gave him an exasperated look, but it was mixed with a loving smile. "You really are stubborn, you know that?" she chided, threading her fingers through his soft hair and stroking it gently. She giggled when she heard him purr in contentment. _

"_It really is strange though…" she muttered. "I can clearly remember everything from that last dream while I'm here, but when I'm awake it's like some of the dream is distorted and I can't remember anything that we actually said. I read somewhere that in your dreams you're more in tune with your true feelings… Maybe there's some kind of block on our waking memories and emotions that keeps up from remembering the dreams in their entirety…" she mused._

**Natsu grunted at her words.**

"**So what you're saying is that we're being dumbasses while we're awake?" he said, chuckling a little. His face split into a grin as she laughed. He really loved the beautiful sound of her laughter.**

"**Well that is definitely a more blunt way of putting it," he heard her giggle. Her fingers continued to thread through his hair, making his scalp tingle. He really couldn't stop the purrs of enjoyment from rumbling out of his chest. **

"**Well…the awake me is on his way to getting his freaking act together," said Natsu proudly. He was entirely sure of his feelings for Lucy now and he was quite eager to get into the next stage of his special training. He looked up at Lucy and grinned at her perplexed expression. "I am getting special training after all!"**

**He immediately regretted telling her that. He knew that look on her face. She was going to badger him about what he meant…**

_Lucy was very confused. How was his special training helping his conscious self to get his act together? The silly dragonslayer really was terrible at explaining himself…_

"_What do you mean Natsu? What kind of training have you been doing?" she asked, and she was surprised to see him blush deeply. He muttered something that she couldn't hear. The celestial spirit mage pushed him off her lap and turned to face him, kneeling with her hands on her lap and a determined look on her face. She struggled to suppress a giggle as he grumbled loudly and sat up, rubbing the back on his head._

"_Natsu…" she said warningly, giving him a dark look._

**He was sure that she must have learned that look from Erza. In some way it was much scarier than it would have been had the requip mage been the one in front of him. It must have something to do with the fact that he was in love with Lucy and didn't want to have her upset at him.**

"**Alright alright I'll tell ya!" he grumbled, crossing his legs and making himself comfortable. Even though he was more deeply connected to his true feelings in this dream state, and things were much easier to express, he was still going to find this a little difficult to actually vocalize. It was also going to be quite embarrassing. He sighed and looked at the little patch of grass in front of her knees, he was too embarrassed to look her in the eye. **

"**The guild is training me to confess to you for real," he muttered, his cheeks flushing a brilliant shade of red. "I'm not so good at understanding new emotions and recently I've been having a lot of really strong urges and feelings around you… So I talked to a few people in the guild and they told me that I'm in love with you… And Levy decided that it would be a good idea to get the whole guild in on this and now they're all helping me to understand my feelings and get up the courage to confess to you…" he continued, still not making eye contact with her. "I finally managed to get to grips with what it means to love someone today, and my awake self realized that I really am in love with you… So tomorrow some of our guildmates are going to help me work on jealousy… They think that I need it after how I reacted to seeing you with that asshole from Blue Pegasus…"**

**He stopped there, not really sure what else there was to say. Lucy had remained quiet the whole time he had been speaking. He hesitantly raised his eyes up to look at her face. **

_Lucy was grinning from ear to ear. She couldn't believe that Natsu had actually gone to the guild for help. He was always reluctant to ask for help and she knew that it must have been hard for him. She was even more impressed that he had actually talked to someone other than Happy about his feelings. Hell, she was impressed that he had even noticed his feelings! She leapt forward and hugged him tightly, not caring that Natsu's face was now pressed tightly into her chest. She could practically feel his face burning against her skin as she giggled at his embarrassment. _

"_Oh Natsu," she said, smiling as she pulled away from him. His face was very red and she could see a thin line of blood running down from his nose, his expression dazed. She giggled again and pressed a loving kiss to his surprised lips. "You have no idea how much it means to me that you're doing this. I know that my conscious self won't remember this but I know that she'd be just as proud and happy as I am! You've got to keep working hard! The conscious me doesn't really want to find someone else… She's just going on that date with Darius because she wants to try to distract herself from her feelings for you. She thinks that the only way to get over you is to try dating other people."_

_She looked away from Natsu's stunned face towards the horizon. The dream sun was rapidly beginning to set. _

"_I don't think that we're going to be here much longer. I think that the dream is ending. When it ends, concentrate as hard as you can on remembering that I really do love you. Concentrate on working as hard as you can on your training! You've got to get through to me in the real world. The conscious me is convinced that the conscious you will never love her. You have to work hard and get me to believe the truth! Promise me!"_

**Natsu was still a little stunned at her words but he smiled and nodded at her. He could understand her awake self's doubt… He really was a dumbass when he was awake. How had it taken him so long to realize that he loved her?**

"**I promise that I'll work hard Luce," he said firmly, taking her hands in his and looking her right in the eyes. He gave her hands a light squeeze. "I won't let anyone steal you away from me. You're my mate and nobody else's." He raised his right hand to cup her face, his left still squeezing both of hers.**

"**I love you Lucy," he whispered, leaning forward and kissing her passionately.**

"_I love you too, Natsu…" she replied as they broke apart. _

They both felt the tug of their physical bodies returning to consciousness.

* * *

><p>The morning light shone on both of their faces as they opened their eyes, in perfect sync. Neither remembered much about their unknowingly shared dream. They recalled the sense of peace, the warmth each felt while together, the feeling of something deep connecting them… But this time they both awoke with a new hope in their hearts that they couldn't quite explain…<p> 


	16. Chapter 13

**Hello again my darling readers!**

**I said I would post a second chapter tonight and I meant it!**

**I'm actually feeling pretty good about this chapter. For some reason the Natsu POV parts are much easier to write than the Lucy POV parts... I don't know why but I'm not going to question it.**

**I saw that some of you think that I should hold off on beginning another fic while I'm still working on this one, and I appreciate your input. I do think that having a side project will help me in the end though. Sometimes focusing entirely on one thing can make your thoughts cluttered so I think I'm going to work on a trial chapter for my second fic tomorrow. I'm too tired tonight. **

**I really can't think of much else to say before the chapter begins... I'm still feeling pretty rough, but I'm better than I was. I'm hoping that this cold will clear up before the weekend because I'm planning on going out to celebrate my birthday on Saturday! (My actual birthday isn't until Monday, but who goes out on a Monday?)**

**Well that's enough rambling from me!**

**I hope that ya'll enjoy the chapter!**

**Reviews and suggestions are always welcome!**

**Lots of love**

**Sabina**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 13<span>

_Four Days Till Lucy's Date_

**Natsu's POV**

Natsu had a strong feeling that he wasn't going to have a very good day. Today was the second day of his 'special training' and the goal for that day would be working on his jealousy… Now that he understood and accepted his love for the blonde celestial spirit mage, he had to learn not to rip out the throats of any other males that came within 5 feet of her.

He nervously eyed the group of mages that would be helping him in this task as he sat on the ground in front of them. They had insisted on taking him well away from Magnolia for this part of his training. It seemed that they were certain that he would flip out and cause a lot of damage to the town, and Natsu was reluctant to admit that they might be right.

They all stood in a huddle some way away from him, whispering together quietly enough that even his enhanced hearing couldn't pick up their words. The group was made up of some of the guild's strongest wizards (although Natsu would never admit that he thought so to their faces); Erza, Gray, Laxus, and Gajeel. They would definitely be able to stop him if the training made him go berserk.

"Alright then," said Erza as the group left their huddle and headed over to where Natsu was sitting. "We have a general idea of what we want to do to get you in control of your anger but we've run into a bit of a snag… The best way to teach you to reign in your jealousy would be to have you watch Lucy interact with other men, but since we can't have Lucy here with us that poses a bit of a problem… I really don't know how we're going to do this…" she muttered, scratching the back of her head and scowling in frustration.

"I believe that I may have a solution to your dilemma my young faeries!" The musical voice rang in their ears, sounding very familiar….

"Master Mavis!" exclaimed Laxus, his look of surprise identical to those of all the other mages present. Fairy Tail's first master Mavis Vermillion stood there in front of them, for all the world looking alive as the rest of them. They knew that this was only the form of her spirit, as she had died many years ago.

"Yes my dears, I've come to help you!" she cheered excitedly, twirling around and smiling brightly at them.

"But…how are you going to help train me to control my jealousy? You're a ghost! And you don't exactly look like Lucy so I can't exactly pretend that you're her," said Natsu, skeptical of what help the ghost could offer, even though she had shown considerable strength before by shielding them from Achnologia's deadly breath. Master Mavis merely smiled and pointed at something that was behind his back. Natsu heard gasps from the others as he turned around, and when his eyes saw what they had seen he thought his heart would beat out of his chest.

Lucy was standing there a few feet behind him, a brilliant smile on her face. She waved a greeting at the gathered mages and laughed at the stunned expressions on their faces. Natsu could feel the panic mounting in his chest.

"Master Mavis what is she doing here?" he burst out, scrambling to his feet and backing away from her, his face flushing intensely. He had thought that Lucy wasn't going to be involved in his training! Hell, she didn't even know what his training was about! He wasn't ready to admit his feelings for her! Natsu's eyes flicked to the first master as he heard her giggle, his panicked expression changing to one of annoyance and confusion.

"Silly goose, that's not really Lucy!" said the small ghost woman. She waved her hand and Lucy's form flickered, her outfit changing to a different one. It was one that he had seen before. She had worn it when he had asked her to meet him by the Sola Tree, needing her celestial spirit Virgo to help him dig for some embarrassing photos of various guild members rumored to be buried at the foot of the tree. That was one of the first times that he had noticed how truly beautiful she was. She had looked so pretty in the light of the parks lamps, and he had almost forgotten why he had asked her there in the first place. But then she had stormed off once he had asked her to summon the celestial spirit. Now he could see why she had been so upset at him, she had probably thought that he was going to confess to her then… He wished that he hadn't been such an idiot…

"Natsu!" yelled Erza, snapping him out of his daydream. He hadn't even realized that the first master had continued speaking after changing the face Lucy's appearance.

"Sorry, what? I wasn't listening!" he said sheepishly, a blush tinging his cheeks.

"Yeah we noticed Salamander," leered Gajeel, winking at his fellow dragonslayer. "You looked like you were in the middle of a real nice daydream." Natsu scowled at him and flipped him the bird, a gesture that the iron dragonslayer returned with gusto.

"That's enough you two!" said Erza sternly, her tone indicating that any further displays would not be tolerated. They both quickly returned their attention to Mavis, not wanting to anger the red headed mage further. "I apologize for their rudeness First Master, please continue."

"No problem at all my dear! As I was saying, I am quite skilled with Illusion Magic, so it will be no problem for me to conjure images for you to practice with!" chirped Mavis, smiling brightly. Natsu had to admit that it was a really good idea.

"That actually sounds like a great plan," he said, while the others nodded their ascent. They had their game plan.

"Alright then," said Laxus, stepping forward to place a hand on Natsu's shoulder. The younger mage could feel a slight tingle as he sensed the immense amount of lightning magic stored in the older mage. He didn't want to be on the receiving end of one of Laxus' shocks… Even though he had access to his Lightning Flame Dragon mode, he could only eat lightning based attacks while that mode was being used. He knew that he wouldn't have time to access it before Laxus gave him a big jolt... "Why don't we get started?" continued the blonde man, nodding to the first master. "I think that we should start with an image of this Darius guy flirting with Lucy to gauge just how bad Natsu's jealousy can get."

"Agreed," said Gray, and Natsu could tell that he was really enjoying this. "Really ramp up the intensity for this first one Master Mavis, we need to see just how bad he could get." The first master nodded, but before she could cast the spell Natsu interrupted.

"But how are you going to conjure up an image of Darius? You don't even know what he looks like," he asked the ghost. He reddened at the sly grin she gave him.

"Did you really think that I wouldn't notice something between two members of my own guild?" she said, giggling. "I've been watching you two for a while now and I could see how you feel about her, so I decided to keep an extra close eye on you! I saw what happened when the young man from Blue Pegasus asked dear Lucy out on a date, I know what he looks like!"

Natsu flushed, but said nothing.

"Alright then, no more interruptions!" said Erza, nodding once again at the first master to begin. The ghost closed her eyes and began to concentrate, gathering the magic to create the images that they needed.

Natsu froze as he heard a squeal from the illusion Lucy. He whipped around and saw her in the arms of the young man from Blue Pegasus, blushing furiously as he whispered something in her ear. His lips brushed against the side of her neck and she giggled again, twining her arms around his neck and playfully kissing the tip of the young man's nose.

The intense burning was back. The pain. The rage.

Natsu could feel flames erupt all over his body and a low growl rumble from his chest as he saw illusion Lucy's lips meet with Darius'.

He would burn this man to dust for touching his woman…

The illusion of Darius settled his hands on her delectable rear, pulling her flush against him. A low moan of delight escaped Illusion Lucy's lips….

That was it.

Natsu roared in anger and launched himself at the tightly entwined couple, intent on ripping that slimy bastard limb from limb and burning the pieces to nothingness. His eyes glowed red, full of a hatred that was terrible to behold.

He didn't register the fact that he simply passed right through the illusions, his mind a haze of burning hate. He whipped back around, intent on making another attempt to rip his mate from the arms of this lowly challenger.

He snarled as a sword was held to his throat and iron bars erupted from the ground, ensnaring him. He thrashed about in anger as a jolt of electricity ripped through his body, not really feeling the pain. It only made him angrier. He struggled harder, snapping at the blade Erza was pointing at him. He could feel the metal bars around him melting from the heat that his body was giving off. They wouldn't hold him for long.

"Crap, he's a lot stronger than I thought…" he heard Gajeel mutter through the red haze. "Yo Ice Princess try to cool him down a little!"

Natsu could feel the sting of the ice as it crept up his legs and the hot metal surrounding him, causing steam to erupt. He thrashed about wildly, growling in anger. How dare they try to stop him from reaching his mate!

"Shit! He's just turning up the heat! My ice won't stay frozen!" he heard the ice mage yell. "We're gonna lose control of him any second!"

Natsu struggled harder than ever, desperate to reach his mate. His Lucy.

Lucy.

She was standing in front of him, her eyes filled with love as she stretched out her hand towards his face. The instant his eyes met hers his flames went out, vanishing into thin air. He gazed at her with a look of hurt and betrayal in his eyes as her hand stroked the side of his face.

"Why Lucy?!" he cried, pain filling his chest.

"Its not real Natsu, it was just an illusion," said the fake Lucy soothingly. Natsu stared at her face for a long time before his breathing slowed and he seemed to return to himself.

"Not real…" he muttered, his eyes returning to their normal color. "What… What happened?" he groaned, starting to feel the affects of his friend's attempts to restrain him.

"You kinda went berserk man," said Gray, panting as he slowly began to let down his guard. The other members of the group were breathing heavily as well. Had he really reacted that strongly?

"Well… It looks like we've got a lot of work ahead of us…" said Master Mavis slowly, looking shocked. "I suppose it's to be expected that a dragonslayer would act aggressively when confronted with a challenger for his mate… Well now we know what to suspect."

"Lets try this again once we all get our breath back," said Erza, sheathing her sword. "And this time we'll dial down the difficulty so Natsu doesn't go berserk again."

Once they had all caught their breaths they began the training again…

* * *

><p><em>Several Hours later...<em>

They had made some progress that day, but they would still need one more day to get Natsu fully in control of his jealousy.

Natsu was now able to remain calm even when seeing Lucy with various other illusionary men. They could hold her hand, flirt with her, even hug her and he would remain calm, albeit with an angry scowl on his face. The real challenge was keeping him calm if he saw the illusions kissing Lucy or touching her intimately.

Sure, situations like that weren't likely to come about if all went according to plan and Natsu confessed to Lucy, they all knew that she wasn't the type of girl to cheat. Once they were together there would be no chance at all of her kissing another man, but it was better safe than sorry when it came to Natsu.

"Alright… I think that's enough for the day…" panted Laxus, and Natsu grunted in agreement from his place on the ground. He was flat on his back, slowly regaining full consciousness after the blow Erza had given him on the head with a huge club. He had been doing very well up to that point, and they had decided to try once again with the illusion of Darius kissing Lucy.

He had managed to keep his cool for about three seconds before losing it again.

"You made excellent progress today Natsu," said Erza tiredly, but he could tell that she meant it. "I think by tomorrow afternoon you'll have gotten control of your jealousy." He just grunted again in agreement.

"I think it's time to get Salamander home," groaned Gajeel, taking the ice that Gray was offering him and applying it to his scorched forearm.

They began the long trek back to Magnolia.

* * *

><p><strong>Lucy's POV<strong>

"Ahh it's so nice to not have rent to worry about!" said Lucy happily, stretching as she entered the guildhall. She didn't need to go on a mission, but it was nice to hang around the guild from time to time and catch up with the other mages. She waved cheerfully at the various people who called out to her, making her way towards the bar. "Good morning Mira!" she sang, not really knowing why she was so cheerful that day.

"Well don't you look happy!" said the oldest Strauss sibling, giving Lucy a suspicious look. "Did something happen to make you so happy? A new development with that mystery man perhaps?"

"Not really," she said, taking a seat in front of the older woman. "He sent me flowers but I haven't actually spoken to him since the other day." She had heard the knock at her door that morning while she was in the shower, so she had sent Happy to see who it was. The little blue exceed was still staying with her, and she had to admit he was actually being quite a polite little houseguest. He had helped her with grocery shopping before they had come to the guild that morning, and had even cleaned up all the messes that he had made since he had been staying with her. She was quite proud of the little cat.

* * *

><p><strong>Happy's POV<strong>

The blue tomcat sniggered as he overhead Lucy telling Mira about the flower delivery that morning. Lucy didn't know it, but the flowers had been delivered to her house by Darius himself. Happy had listened to Natsu's description of the man, although it had been heavily embellished with how slimy and evil looking the fire mage had thought he looked, and Happy hadn't had much trouble identifying the visitor.

"_No Lucy can't come to the door right now," the little exceed had said innocently, when the Blue Pegasus mage had asked if he could see Lucy. _

"_I was hoping that she would want to grab some breakfast," the young man had continued, a little disappointed. "I know our real date isn't until Friday night, but I just couldn't wait to see her again!" _

_Happy hadn't liked the look of hopeful anticipation in the mage's eyes. He knew when someone was thinking dirty things, he made a point to make fun of anyone who obviously was, and this guy's mind was way in the gutter. _

"_Sorry you'll have to wait until Friday then! She's going to be busy with Natsu and I for the next few days!" the little feline lied, casually slipping the dragonslayer's name into the conversation._

"_Natsu? Is that the name of one of her teammates?" asked the man, his eyes narrowing a little. _

"_Yeah, HE'S one of mine and Lucy's best friends! We're one of Fairy Tail's strongest teams!" boasted Happy, making sure to emphasize the HE. Darius's expression remained the same but Happy could tell that he was annoyed. _

"_Alright then… Well anyway tell Lucy that I stopped by and that I'm really excited about our date! I'm doing everything I can to make sure that it is spectacular!"_

Happy had nodded, secretly crossing his fingers behind his back, as he bid the young man farewell and closed the door. He had still given the flowers to Lucy, it would have been really suspicious if she were to show up at her date and she had not seen them. She would instantly suspect Happy and probably kick his but to boot. If all went according to plan Lucy wouldn't be on her date for long, but it didn't hurt to be careful.

* * *

><p><strong>Lucy's POV<strong>

She spent most of the day chatting away with the various members of the guild as the came and went throughout the day. Many of them asked her where Natsu was, and she told them what he had told her. He was at home doing some special training. Some members of the guild like Mira, Lisanna, Freed, and Team Shadow Gear grinned widely when they heard this, which Lucy found suspicious, but she quickly brushed those suspicions away. She must have been imagining things.

She spent quite a long time talking with Juvia and Levy, as they were both very interested in her love life. They harassed her with questions about the flowers that Darius had sent her, and her predictions for what their date would be like. She did her best to keep a straight face and answer all of their questions politely, even though she was really getting annoyed at their nosiness.

"Have you been by to check on Natsu recently?" asked Levy after a while. Lucy shook her head.

"I don't want to disturb him, " she said, which was partially true. She really didn't want to disturb the dragonslayer's training because she knew he took it very seriously, but she was also reluctant to go see him because of the dreams that she had been having the past few nights. Even now her face flushed with embarrassment at the memories.

"Juvia thinks that you should go see Natsu," said the water mage, smiling sweetly at Lucy. "You do have such a strong influence on him… Juvia is sure that your encouragement would be very helpful to him." Lucy sighed in exasperation and shook her head.

"No I really don't even want to think about Natsu right now…. I'm trying to get over him after all. I don't think that seeing him would be very helpful," she said in a 'this is my final decision, so you had better not mention it again' tone. After that they hurriedly changed the topic to her novel.

Lucy chatted with them a while longer before deciding that she wanted to head home for the day. It was already past noon and she was feeling tired, so she bid farewell to everyone in the guild and began the short walk home.

* * *

><p>A few hours later she was getting ready for bed. She had decided to work on her novel once she had gotten home and had made a good deal of progress on it. Her writer's block had lessened a little and she was glad of that.<p>

Happy had arrived just before dinnertime, and she had been thankful when he had offered to help her with dinner. They had talked about what they had both seen and heard at the guild that day as they ate, laughing and joking all the while.

Lucy was content when she slid carefully into bed, not wanting to disturb Happy, who was curled up on one of her pillows snoring quietly. She felt like a big change was coming up in her life, and while she was nervous about it, she felt like it was going to be a change for the better…

Minutes later she was sound asleep…


	17. News Update 4

p style="text-align: center;"strongHello my lovelies!/strong/p  
>p style="text-align: center;"strongI am sorry to say that I won't be posting a chapter tonight... I need a day off to let my brain rest...strongstrongHowever! I would like to use this post to ask your opinions!/strong/p  
>p style="text-align: center;"strongAs I said before my next fic is going to be a big work between my OC character and Sting, with a little GaLe thrown in there! (Well more than a little, probably a lot haha)strong/p  
>p style="text-align: center;"strongSo! What I was thinking was that the plot would be centered around Fairy Tail and Sabertooth teaming up and going on a big mission... I have no idea what kind of mission to send the characters on...strong/p  
>p style="text-align: center;"strongSo what I would love from you, my dear readers, would be for you to leave reviews or PM me missions that you would like to see the characters going on! strong/p  
>p style="text-align: center;"strongAgain, sorry that there is no new chapter tonight! I promise that I'll post one tomorrow! strong/p  
>p style="text-align: center;"strongMuch lovestrong/p  
>p style="text-align: center;"strongSabinastrong/p  
>p style="text-align: center;" p 


	18. Chapter 14

**Hello my darlings!**

**Oh my goodness I am soooooooooo sorry that I haven't posted in a while... I had complete and utter writer's block and I was super distracted all weekend! I was out most nights for the past few days and wasn't really able to get much writing done...**

**The reason I was out was because I was celebrating my birthday early! Yes! Today is my 22nd birthday! Today's chapter is a thank you gift from me to all of you who have given me such wonderful feedback on my work! I really can't thank you enough for the support that you've given me.**

**Anyway! I'm quite happy with today's chapter, I think that I really managed to get back into the story. I read the new chapter of Fairy Tail this morning (YAY! CHAPTER RELEASED ON MY BIRTHDAY) and while it wasn't what I was hoping plot wise I still really enjoyed it! I teared up a little when I saw that Natsu, Happy, and Gildarts still had their guildmarks... (You know what I mean if you've been keeping up with the manga, if you haven't been keeping up... You'll find out sooner or later) I'm super excited for next week's chapter.**

**I'm feeling really good about the rest of the story that I have planned out so far and I really hope that ya'll are going to enjoy it!**

**As always, review and suggestions are wonderful!**

**Much love**

**Sabina**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 14<span>

_Three Days Till Lucy's Date_

**Lucy's POV**

"Lucy! Let's have a girl's day!"

"Huh? A girl's day?" said Lucy confusedly. Levy and a few of the guild's younger women had just swarmed her as she walked into Fairy Tail's guildhall. Levy was beaming and the other women were looking very excited.

"Yeah! We'll all go to the bathhouse and then we'll go to the spa! We can get facials and manicures! Besides you've gotta look good for your man in a few days!" explained Levy. She winked at Lucy suggestively, making the blonde blush and hide her face in her hands. She missed the knowing looks that passed between the other women at the mention of 'her man.'

"Come on Lucy it'll be fun," coaxed Juvia. Lucy sighed.

"Well I suppose it would be really nice to get my nails done and stuff. Alright, lets go! Oh but wait, where's Erza? Shouldn't she come along as well?" she added, looking around for the red headed woman.

"Oh she's not here! She and a few of the others are helping Natsu with his training!" said Lisanna quickly, making Lucy frown. _Natsu asked for Erza's help? Why didn't he come as me, I thought we were partners… _

She felt a pricking at the corner of her eyes, a sure sign that she was about to tear up. Was he still mad at her? Did he think that she was too weak to help him?

"Lucy, are you ok?" said Levy concernedly, gently shaking the celestial mage's shoulder. Lucy fought back her confusion and the tears, her face breaking into a strained smile.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine! Let's go!"

* * *

><p>A little while later they were stripping out of their clothes and heading into the warmth of the women's bath. Lucy smiled a little as she grabbed her bathing supplies. It was going to be nice to spend some time with the other women. Not all of the ladies of Fairy Tail had come along, but a good few of them had. Levy, Wendy, Carla, Lisanna, Cana, Juvia, Bisca, and surprisingly Evergreen.<p>

"Oh man this is going to feel great!" said Cana, taking a big gulp out of the wine bottle that she had snuck in. Lucy giggled at her.

"Are you sure that it's not just the booze?" she teased. Cana stuck her tongue out at her.

They set their supplies down and settled themselves into the large bath at the back of the room. The women sighed as the herbs in the water soothed any aches or pains that they happened to have. This bathhouse was a favorite spot of the Fairy Tail guild, as the water contained healing medicines that were wonderfully refreshing after long missions. Lucy sat against the wall, tilting her head back and closing her eyes. It felt wonderful.

"So Lucy…" She opened her eyes and turned towards Evergreen, who had sidled up to her and was giving her a sly look. "Why don't you tell us a little more about this date of yours? All of us are dying to know more…" Lucy flushed and laughed nervously as the other women crowded in to listen in.

"Oh come on guys it's just a date, it's not that exciting," she grumbled. The other women all rolled their eyes and Lisanna made a _tsk_-ing noise.

"Oh come on Lucy, you know it's a big deal," slurred Cana. "You're one of Fairy Tail's most popular bachelorettes, AND your date is from the infamously gorgeous Blue Pegasus guild… We need details." Lucy groaned but she knew that they were going to be persistent.

"Well alright… What do you guys want to know?" she said resignedly, causing the other women to giggle excitedly.

"What does he look like?" asked Lisanna, earning some nods from the rest of the peanut gallery.

"Well…" began Lucy, hesitating a little. She was actually having a hard time bringing his face to mind. She had thought him handsome when they had met, but for some reason she was having trouble remembering. Every time she tried, she found herself comparing what she did remember to Natsu… She shook her head and pushed the thoughts of the dragonslayer out of her mind. "W-well… Darius is really good looking; I've actually seen him in Sorcerer Weekly spreads before… He's really tall, not too buff but still pretty muscular… He's got black hair, keeps it pretty short and styled nicely, dresses very suavely like all the men from Pegasus…" The other women giggled in excitement.

"He sounds like quite the looker! What color are his eyes?" asked Bisca. Lucy blinked. _His eyes? _She supposed that she should remember but for some reason she couldn't. She saw the expectant expressions and decided to just wing it.

"Oh they're this really pretty shade of blue," she said, waving her hands about animatedly, trying to cover her lack of knowledge with enthusiasm. Levy gave her a suspicious look, but it didn't last long. Lucy sighed in relief as the blunette was distracted by the next question, which came from Wendy.

"What's he like Lucy? He must be super nice to have caught your attention!" said the youngest dragonslayer, a dreamy look on her face. "You've always had good taste in men, and you wouldn't have said yes if he wasn't super polite!" Lucy blushed a little and nodded. She hadn't realized that everyone had noted her rather high standards.

"He's very polite. He was very complimentary on my taste in clothing and he was such a gentleman when we left the store. He even kissed my hand before he left…" Lucy's face reddened as a few of the girls gasped and giggled. Cana wolf whistled.

"He sounds like quite the charmer," said Carla approvingly. The little white exceed was known to be rather old-fashioned.

"Yeah I suppose he is!" said Lucy, smiling. Her heart sank at what Juvia said next. She was closer to the blue haired woman than she had ever been before, but the water mage really had a knack for bringing things up at the worst possible time, without thought for how it would make Lucy feel.

"So he's quite different from Natsu it seems," said the water mage. The other girls giggled, but Lucy just shrugged. She had hoped to keep the conversation away from her teammate but she had known deep down that it would probably be brought up no matter what.

"Yeah he doesn't sound at all like our hot-headed goofball," said Evergreen, eying Lucy curiously. "Are you sure that he won't be too boring for you?" Lucy groaned in exasperation.

"He is not going to be boring," she said, starting to get annoyed. "It'll be nice to spend time with a guy who doesn't set things on fire when he gets excited! And he won't be embarrassing to eat with cause he probably won't stuff his face like a wild animal, he won't make inappropriate comments about my outfit, he'll probably give me compliments if I dress nicely, he'll pay for dinner, he'll talk about things other than fighting, and he'll treat my like the lady that I am!" Lucy hadn't realized that she had gotten louder and louder as she spoke, until she was shouting by the time she had finished. She hadn't even realized that she had gotten to her feet, and that tears were threatening to fall from her eyes.

The other women were looking at her in shock. Levy slowly reached out a hand and gently pulled Lucy back down to a sitting position.

"We were just curious Lu… Sorry if we upset you…" She said slowly. The other women nodded, looking a little sheepish. "Why are you crying? Is there something you want to talk about?" added the solid script mage. Lucy hurriedly wiped away the tears from her eyes.

"What? Oh, no I'm fine!" she said quickly, waving her hands dismissively. "Let's hurry up and get washed! We can head over to the spa and get our treatments!"

* * *

><p>Lucy was feeling a lot better by the time that she returned home that evening. After her little outburst at the bathhouse, the girls had steered clear of the Natsu topic and had stuck to discussing what she was going to wear for her date, and what she should do to get ready on the day. They had all gone and gotten massages, facials, and had had a fun time getting their nails done.<p>

They had insisted on helping Lucy to pick out a nail design that matched her outfit for her date. They had unanimously agreed that she should wear the outfit that had gotten Darius' attention. She had to admit that she was looking forward to wearing the new clothes, especially since her nails now matched the star design that covered the leggings that she loved. Black gel polish covered with tiny golden stars and silver sparkles covered her well cared for nails and she couldn't help but smile as she admired them as she lay in bed.

"Whatcha smiling about Lucy?" asked Happy from his position curled up on one of her pillows. Lucy smiled again and scratched the exceed behind his ears, causing him to purr happily.

"Oh nothing Happy, just thinking," she said. The little blue feline yawned tiredly and she giggled as his eyes began to droop shut. "Go to sleep buddy." Happy nodded even as his breathing slowed and he fell into a deep sleep.

She sighed as she snuggled further under her covers and closed her eyes. She could feel her own body being pulled slowly into sleep. As she slipped further and further into the realm of her dreams, she thought that she heard a familiar voice whispering to her… Her dream senses mingled with her conscious senses for a brief time, as she teetered on the edge of consciousness. She felt the faintest, gentle brush of something over her lips… She could barely taste it, but the touch had left the taste of cinnamon on her lips.

**Sorry I didn't show last night Luce… I was too tired from training… I love you…**

* * *

><p><strong>Natsu's POV<strong>

Natsu wasn't sure how that day's training was going to go… He hadn't dreamed the night before; his body had been too exhausted to put any energy towards dreaming. His sleep had been fitful too… He had been constantly waking up in a sweat. Now he was about to start the second half of his jealousy training… At least it wouldn't be as hard on the others to keep him from going crazy.

"Are you ready my dear?" asked Master Mavis sweetly, smiling at the tired young man. Natsu grunted and nodded. They might as well get started.

* * *

><p>A little while later they had made little to no progress. He was still doing fine with the images of Lucy with randomly created men. He could even stand seeing them obviously flirt with her and kiss her. But as soon as Mavis conjured images of Darius, it was as if they were starting from square one.<p>

Natsu panted as he calmed down from his most recent outburst, sweat pouring off of him as he tried desperately to get the images of Lucy in the arms of that scumbag out of his mind. The others were trying to catch their breaths as well, looking a little bit singed from his flames. Natsu groaned and flopped down onto the ground, covering his face with his hands.

"I'm never going to get this…" he muttered, uncharacteristically pessimistic. "I don't know what it is about that guy but something is different when I see images of him with Lucy…" He could see Erza pondering his words out of the corner of his eyes.

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you know that Darius is a real person, not a made up illusion…" she wondered aloud. Laxus gave her a thoughtful look.

"You may have a point Erza," said the lightning dragonslayer. "It might be worth a shot to try it with images of people that Natsu knows are real." The first master clapped her hands together and smiled at them.

"What a good idea! I would expect no less of the grandson of the third master!" she praised, causing Laxus to grumble in embarrassment.

"Well let's give it a shot. We've only got one more day to get Salamander through this training," said Gajeel gruffly. He looked rather irritated, probably due to the slightly smoking red mark on his face. During his last bout of anger, Natsu had struck the other slayer's cheek with a particularly strong Fire Dragon Iron Fist…

"Alright, Natsu on your feet," encouraged Gray. The ice-make mage had been oddly nice to his rival lately, but Natsu appreciated it. He had known Gray a long time, and the other man must have been able to see how tough this was on the pyro. Even thought they fought on a daily basis, they were still friends deep down. Natsu took the hand that Gray offered him and got to his feet.

"Alright then, who should we try?" asked Erza, her elbow resting on her sword which was stuck in the ground. They thought about it for a few moments before Gajeel pointed at Gray.

"My vote is for ice princess over there," he sneered. "It might be a good idea to start with someone that Salamander associates with on a regular basis. Maybe he'll be able to reign himself in if it's a teammate." Natsu and Gray both blanched at this.

"What? Why me?" shouted the ice mage, his face reddening. "I'm not interested in Lucy like that at all! I like Ju-" he had continued, but stopped himself. They stared at him intently and his face grew even redder. "I-I like someone else…" he muttered, steam rising comically from his red face. Gajeel snickered at the embarrassed ice mage but didn't say anything.

"I have to agree with Gajeel on this one," said Erza slowly, still giving Gray an amused look. "Let's give it a shot."

"Alright then, get ready everyone!" said Mavis, beginning to summon the illusions. Natsu braced himself for the rush of anger.

It hit pretty hard. As soon as he saw the image of a shirtless Gray embracing Lucy and giving her what he thought were the eyes that Juvia fantasized about, he felt his body temperature skyrocket. He didn't realize that Mavis hadn't actually made the illusion anything more than Lucy embracing a dear friend.

"GRAY!" he roared, launching himself at the illusion. He half expected the others to immediately try to restrain him but for some reason they didn't. The image of Gray jumped away from Lucy, holding up its hands.

"Natsu I was just hugging her," said the copy. Natsu glared at it, flames spouting from his nostrils.

"Just. Hugging…?" growled Natsu, rage still filling his voice. This time however, the rage was more subdued, the others could sense that he was thinking through what the copy had said. "You were…just hugging her…" he said again, and his voice was noticeably calmer.

"Yeah man, we're just friends. It's okay for a guy to hug your girl if as long as he doesn't try anything," said the copy slowly. The flames covering Natsu began to die down. In a few moments they were completely out and his breathing had almost returned to normal.

"Excellent Natsu!" said Erza, giving him a bone crushing hug. Natsu let out a pained squeak as she hugged him, then gasped when she let go.

"But… That was different from all the other times," he said slowly. He looked at Master Mavis curiously. She smiled at him.

"I decided to try something a little different. I think that we've been focusing too much on images of Lucy actually showing interest in other men. The whole point of this training is to keep you from attacking people out of jealousy. Assuming all goes according to plan and the outcome we want comes about when you confess to her, the real issue is to keep you from attacking anyone that you see as a threat to your claim on your mate," explained the ghost. Natsu could actually see her point.

"Wow… Why didn't we think of that before?" said Laxus, a surprised look on his face. "I guess we hadn't really thought this through as thoroughly as we should have."

"It's quite alright my dears," said the blonde ghost, giggling at them. "That was wonderful progress Natsu, I suggest we continue the training like that. We'll try with Gray again for a few more times then we'll move through the other men of Fairy Tail before trying a few members of other guilds. Then finally we'll try again with Darius."

They all nodded and began the training again.

* * *

><p>A few hours later Natsu had made tremendous progress. It had only taken two more times with the Gray copy before Natsu could see them embracing and not even give any signs of jealousy. They had continued with a few of the younger men in the guild; Jet, Droy, Max, Gajeel (much to his irritation)… They had even progressed to various members of other guilds!<p>

They had hit a bit of a snag when Mavis had summoned up images of the Trimens, cause due to their naturally flirtatious natures the copies actually had made passes at Lucy; but after a while Natsu was able to keep himself from attacking the copies even if they flirted with the copy Lucy.

"Alright then… I think that it's time we try Darius again," said Erza. They were all seated on the ground eating. They had decided to break for lunch after Natsu's last successful viewing of Lucy being flirted with Pegasus' Hibiki.

"Yeah," said the fire dragonslayer, his eyes filled with more confidence than he had had this morning. "I think that I'm ready."

"Before we try again I think that we should go over some things for you to think about," said Gray, placing his water bottle on the ground. "This is going to be different from the other copies. We know for a fact that this guy is really interested in Lucy so it's going to have to be convincing. But you can't let the thought in your head that he's going to win over Lucy. You're going to be the one who gets her in the end and you have to keep that in mind when you see them together for real," he said, speaking sternly but encouragingly.

"Gray is right. The best way to keep your anger in check is to remember that this guy is nothing compared to you. You've known Lucy longer, and you've been through much more with her. You've been right by her side while you were both looking death in the face, and you got through it together. Nothing that this guy can say or do will make Lucy value him more than you," said Erza, smiling at Natsu. He looked at them all with a stunned expression on his face.

"I…I never really thought about it like that before…" he said in wonder. They all grinned at him.

"We decided to save that bit of advice for right before the final test," said Gajeel, sneering like he always did, but the sneer was somehow friendlier. Natsu was shocked that the iron dragonslayer was actually being nice to him. They had always been butting heads, even after Gajeel had joined the guild, but it seemed like the guy actually wanted to help.

"Thanks guys, I really appreciate it," said Natsu, trying not to get emotional.

"Come on man, its nothing. How many times have you saved the guild's ass in the past?" said Laxus, smiling at the younger man in a brotherly way. "You've just gotta remember that the whole guild is behind you on this. You're special to Lucy. You were the one who brought her to Fairy Tail. You were there for her when he dad died. You fought like a dragon to save her on so many occasions." Gajeel nodded at Laxus' words.

"Yeah you kicked my ass good just to get her back," he said, surprising everyone present. It was strange to hear Gajeel admit that Natsu had beaten him.

"You can do this Natsu," said Erza. She stood up and they all followed suit; except for Natsu, who remained sitting on the ground for a few more moments. His head was hung, and they all knew that he was fighting off tears.

He wouldn't cry now. Their words had touched him. He felt such a sense of family from these people. He wouldn't let them down. Natsu stood up.

"Right lets do this…." He said, determination filling his voice. Master Mavis smiled as brightly as the sun.

"Very well then!" she said, and began conjuring the images.

Natsu took deep breaths. He had to get this. He couldn't fail. He closed his eyes and waited. He opened them when he felt the magical energy that Mavis was manipulating settle.

Illusion Lucy stood in front of him. She looked beautiful as always. She was smiling as she talked to the illusion of Darius, who was grinning at her, obviously as entranced by her beauty as he was. He could feel the anger beginning to build inside him as the illusion of Darius put his arm around Lucy's shoulder and whispered in her ear, causing her to giggle.

A small flame formed at the tips of his finger as he saw the man kiss her on the cheek.

_I will burn him…_

He was about to leap forward when the words of his friends filled his head.

"_Nothing that this guy can say or do will make Lucy value him more than you."_

"_You've been right there with her side while you were both looking death in the face, and you got through it together."_

"_You were the one who brought her to Fairy Tail."_

As these words filled his mind, Natsu could feel the anger ebbing away. They were right. This guy was nothing compared to him. Natsu knew Lucy better than anyone. This guy had no chance in hell with such a wonderful woman.

He closed his eyes and the flames died.

"That's it! You've done it!" exclaimed Mavis, letting the illusion shatter and clapping her hands. The others all cheered and gathered around Natsu, clapping him on the back and praising him. He smiled at them and thanked them, a huge grin on his face.

* * *

><p>That night when he had returned to his home, he hadn't felt as exhausted as the previous day. He was proud of himself. He had mastered his jealousy.<p>

On the previous days of training Natsu had been plagued by doubt; doubt that Lucy would chose him over Darius. Now that doubt had dwindled to almost non-existence. He would win Lucy's heart. He would show up at her date and steal her away from that unworthy pretty-boy.

He smiled as he settled into his bed, feeling truly relaxed for the first time in days.

* * *

><p>That night when the dream began he immediately rushed over to Lucy and pressed a tender kiss to her lips.<p>

**Sorry I didn't show last night Luce… I was too tired from training… I love you…**


	19. Chapter 15

**Hello again my lovely readers! **

**You thought I was done for the day?! No sir. I was on a roll this morning and started a second chapter right after posting the first. I worked on it a little bit in class but then I got way too embarrassed and had to wait till I was done for the day to finish it...**

**THE REASON IS THAT THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SOME QUITE FLAVORFUL CITRUS. More limey than lemony but you get the point. I aim to please my readers.**

**Now I know one of my personal friends is going to be reading this (you know who you are) and if you mention anything of this I will end you. 3**

**Anyway! I'll be doing another little drabble of nonsense at the end of the chapter so make sure to read that too! **

** Snavej- Yeah I thought I might have gone a bit over with the jealousy thing. It's difficult to really know how Mashima would have Natsu behaving in this situation (I think I speak for a large majority of the fandom when I express my utmost desire for him to write something like this for real...), so I've kinda had to guess on my own how I think Mashima would write. Since he's never really done much about how Natsu really thinks when it comes to romance (he portrays Natsu as being super clueless, like with Asuka telling him to kiss Lucy), so I'm kinda winging it. I based a lot of how he reacts when he's jealous on how he reacted whenever someone hurt Lucy or threatened her (like when he threatened to burn the guards to cinders in Edolas when they said Lucy was going to be executed). All the rest of the stuff about how he feels about Lucy and how he handles his emotions is all guesswork and my interpretation on how I think he'd react. I don't think that Natsu is as dumb as he seems, and I think that he really does care for Lucy in his own way, but he just doesn't really see it like that at the present. I'm desperately hoping that Mashima will have some moment in the series where Natsu realizes that he's madly in love with Lucy... Every fangirl's dream... *swoon* But yeah... It's difficult to really know how the author would write in this situation so you really have to do a lot of guesswork. **

**ANYWAY! That was wayyyy too much rambling on my part... So without further ado, I present ya'll with Chapter 15! I hope that you enjoy it!**

**As always reviews and suggestions are my bread and butter!**

**Much love**

**Sabina**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 15<span>

"**Sorry I didn't show last night Luce… I was too tired from training… I love you…"**

**Natsu embraced the woman he loved. This dream world was truly a gift to him. Even though he couldn't see her right now in the real world, he was still able to see her here. He would have gone mad if it weren't for these dreams. He felt her giggle a little and wrap her arms around his waste, hugging him tightly. It felt like heaven. **

"_Silly Natsu. I don't mind waiting on you," she said sweetly. She really loved this young man. Just seeing him filled her heart with happiness. "Did your training go well today?"_

_She smiled as Natsu nodded at her._

"**It went great. I finally managed to get my jealousy under control! I couldn't have done it without the others though… They told me some stuff that really helped a lot," he said, and explained to her what they had said. She laughed her perfect laugh and smiled. **

"_I can't believe that Master Mavis decided to help you out too! They do have a point you know. Fairy Tail was my dream guild, and thanks to you it's not my home and my family," she said, laying her head on his chest and listening to the sound of his heartbeat. "If it wasn't for you I'd still be all alone. I wouldn't be half the mage I am today."_

"**You'd still be an amazing mage even if you weren't in Fairy Tail," scoffed Natsu. "There isn't a single woman in all of Fiore with as much compassion and strength as you. Well Erza and Mira might have you bet in physical strength-… OW! If ya'd let me finish I was gonna say that you've got them beat in willpower though," he said, grunting in pain when she knocked him on the head. She laughed and he felt his heart melt. He growled playfully at her and caught her lips in a kiss, loving the sweet taste of her. **

_Lucy kissed him back enthusiastically. She was so proud of him for all the hard work he was putting himself through. It amazed her that he was doing so much for her. It made her love him even more. After a minute or so she broke the kiss, giggling at him as he whined in protest. _

"_As much as I'd like to continue that, I don't exactly want to be standing in this gigantic blank space for this whole dream," she said playfully, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. She looked around at their surroundings, or really the lack thereof. "It's kinda freaky… Nothing around us at all… I wonder if we can change it…" she mused._

"**I've got an idea!" said Natsu excitedly, pulling her in for a hug. "Close your eyes Luce…" he whispered in her ear. Once she had, he looked around at their surroundings and thought hard. He wasn't great at this whole romance thing yet but he had a general idea of what women thought to be romantic. He willed their surroundings to change.**

**After a few seconds the scenery slowly began to change to what he was picturing in his mind. He grinned as he admired his handiwork.**

"**Okay Luce, open your eyes."**

_Lucy opened her eyes. For a few moments she was frightened, it had gotten much darker and her eyes had not yet adjusted to the change so she couldn't see. Slowly, her eyes began to adapt to the dim light…_

_She gasped._

_She and Natsu were standing on the edge of a moonlit lake, surrounded by beautiful cherry blossom trees. They glowed with a faint rainbow hue in the dark. On the ground in front of them were a large blanket and a few comfy looking pillows._

_Had Natsu really thought of this himself? She gazed about in wonder, only looking up at the fire dragonslayer when she felt his chest rumble with a chuckle. _

"**Do you like it Luce?" he asked, grinning at her like a little kid who was showing off a drawing they hoped would go on the fridge. He chuckled again as she just nodded, unable to find the words. He pulled her down onto the blanket and lay down on his back, pulling her tightly against him. He gently stroked her back as he gazed up at the starry sky he knew she loved. **

"_Natsu… How did you think of this?" she asked in amazement. Had Natsu, the most unromantic man in the whole kingdom of Fiore, really thought of this on his own? She saw his face redden and he laughed a little sheepishly. _

"**Well actually it wasn't entirely my idea. I got a lot of it from a book that Levy lent me…" he reluctantly admitted. That particular scene from the book had been burned quite deeply into his memory… "Although in the book there weren't cherry trees and it was daytime. I figured you'd like the stars and the blossoms more," he added. He looked down at her and saw the happy tears in her eyes. **

"_It's perfect Natsu, thank you," she said, as his thumbs gently brushed away her tears. She thought about what he had said again. "Wait… You read a book?" she exclaimed, shooting upright and staring at him in shock. She giggled when he blushed and put his hands behind his head, averting his gaze from her eyes. _

"**Yeah Levy lent it to me cause she thought that it would help me to sort out my feelings for you. Although I think that she really had ulterior motives," he grumbled, blushing at the memory. "It didn't really help much. It just gave me one more issue to deal with…" He immediately regretted saying that last bit, seeing the curious look on her face.**

"_What kind of problem would a book give you?" she asked Natsu, full of burning curiosity. What did he mean? She waited patiently as he thought about what to say._

"**Well you know those books that Erza sometimes reads?"**

"_Wait, the weapon reference books? How would those help you with your feelings?"_

"**No not those… The uh…adult ones…"**

"_What do you mean adult… Oh. OH! LEVY LENT YOU ONE OF THOSE?" she stammered, blushing as furiously as he was. Oh she was going to give that girl a piece of her mind if her conscious self ever found out about this. _

"**Y-yeah… She did... And uh… It was kinda fitting I guess… I mean the main character…" he mumbled the last bit hoping that Lucy wouldn't hear it, and praying that she wouldn't ask him to repeat himself. Unfortunately for him she did. **

"_The main character what Natsu?"_

"**Well uh… The main character's name was Lucy…"**

"_Oh I am going to kill Levy," she groaned, flopping back down next to him and burying her face in his chest. They sat in silence for a while._

"**I mean… It wasn't that bad…" muttered Natsu, blushing as red as a tomato. "It's not like I haven't thought of stuff before… This was just more…romantic than what I usually imagine."**

_Lucy looked up at him, still blushing, but curious. _

"_So what happened in the book?" she asked hesitantly. His eyes flashed down and met with hers, and she gulped. She could see the hunger lurking below his embarrassment._

"**Would you rather that I show you instead?"**

"_Uh… Show me?" Lucy was sure that her face was on fire at this point, but she was beyond caring. The look in his eyes had stirred her own desired, and she could feel warmth pooling low in her belly in anticipation. _

"**Yeah," Natsu murmured, not taking his eyes off Lucy's. He could see that she was curious, excited. He could smell it too. That amazing scent that was purely Lucy was getting stronger, causing his groin to ache painfully. "Actually… I really want to show you…" he whispered, before kissing her hungrily. He groaned as she parted her lips at the first flick of his tongue. She tasted so damn sweet… Their tongues tangled, and his left hand wondered down to cup her delicious rear. He growled when she captured his tongue between her lips and sucked on it. In a flash he had her beneath him, his limbs caging her in as he kissed her hungrily. **

_Lucy felt like she was on fire. How was it that he always managed to make her feel like this? She knew he was completely inexperienced with women… Very early on she had found out that Natsu had never really been interested in dating, even though many of the girls in town always tried to get his attention. He had never had a girlfriend, or even kissed a girl to her knowledge. But somehow he kissed her like he was an old pro, making her burn for him. When they broke for air she gasped._

"_I think I'd really like you to show me," she panted. _

**That was all the encouragement he needed. He attacked her mouth again, kissing her fiercely and possessively. He was going to show her exactly what he had learned from that book. His own release could wait for another dream for all he cared. He was going to spend the entirety of their time together taking care of her, and finding every single sweet spot on her body. **

**He swept his tongue into her sweet mouth once more before moving down to kiss her neck tenderly. He laved his tongue over her collarbone, making her tremble and whimper. Intrigued, he bit down on the spot gently. He was pleased with the reaction that he got. She gasped and squirmed underneath him, her face flushing a deep shade of red. He licked over the bite and smirked as a little moan escaped her lips. **

_Lucy trembled as she felt the gentle bit on her collarbone. She couldn't explain why it felt so good but it did. She knew that some people were turned on by being bitten, so she had to assume that she was one of them. And by the look on his face Natsu had come to that conclusion as well._

_Natsu wasted no time in reaching down to the hem of her shirt and pulling it over her head and throwing it to the side. She groaned as he began to give her gentle love bites all over her neck and shoulders, giving occasional hard sucks to the sensitive skin and leaving many red marks on her pale skin. The thought was very faint in the back of her mind due to his ministrations, but she was glad that this was a dream. Those marks would have been hard to make an excuse for. _

_Her mind snapped back to the man on top of her as she felt head spread across her chest. He had hooked his finger in the front of her bra and burned the thing off of her. Yet another reason to be thankful it was a dream, although she doubted she'd care much in real life if this was actually happening to her. _

**That was a sight he'd never get tired of. He gazed down at her half naked body greedily, his eyes not missing an inch of smooth skin. It looked so delicious. He couldn't resist the temptation to lean his head down and gently bite the soft skin at the top of her left breast. She moaned loudly and he purred in satisfaction.**

**He began to give her butterfly kisses across her neck and chest, occasionally pausing to suck greedily on her skin whenever he found a particularly delectable spot. He loved the noises that she was making. Pants, moans, gasps, whines... They were all music to his ears. **

**Slowly, torturously, he made his way down to her generous chest. He licked his lips before taking one rosy peak between his lips. She moaned loudly and her hands were suddenly in his hair, tugging gently. He growled a little at the sensation, as it was not exactly helping to ease his libido. In fact it was increasing it. He decided to reprimand her for turning him on more by giving her nipple a light nip, but her reaction said it was more a reward than a punishment. **

_Lucy cried out when she felt his teeth nip at her. She was shaking all over, unable to keep herself quiet as he teased her. The quiet night air was filled the sounds of gasps and moans as he continued to torment her. _

_A loud whimper fell from her mouth as he took a particularly hard suck on one of her nipples, his other hand gently pinching the other. She squirmed as his teeth gently scraped against the sensitive nub in his mouth. He was going to drive her insane. _

_She whined in both relief and disappointment as he moved further down her body. He seemed fascinated by the smooth skin on her stomach. He greedily licked his tongue over the skin there, continuing to bite gently here and there. While his mouth was busy with her stomach, his hands had made their way down to her skirt and had pulled it off without her noticing. _

_She certainly did notice when she felt one strong finger slide over the damp crotch of her panties. She gasped and her hips reflexively jerked off the blanket. The dragonslayer on top of her chuckled and pressed her back down to the ground, not removing his lips from her skin. _

**No matter where he tasted her on her body, she was always delicious. He smirked a little to himself when he found yet another sensitive spot on her hip. He bit a little bit harder and she wailed, fingers tugging encouragingly in his pink locks. **

**He passed his finger over her panties again and chuckled at her groan of frustration. He did this a few more times just to get her worked up before hooking his finger in her lacy panties and ripping them off. **

**He really upped the teasing as he moved his hand towards her center at an excruciatingly slow pace. She was breathing hard and fast by the time the tip of his finger felt her wetness. When it did, she moaned and tried to thrash wildly, attempting to buck her hips down enough to impale herself on his hand. He growled a warning and moved his hand away a little, and that stopped her thrashing. **

**He slowly his hand back to her opening, allowing her some relief when he slid his finger all the way along her opening. She cried out wantonly and trembled more violently than ever. Okay, that noise had to deserve a bit larger of a reward. **

_He pushed one strong digit into her hot center and she nearly broke. She had never felt so good and so turned on in all her life and she just wished that he'd hurry up and take her. But apparently he had other plans…_

_She could only lie there as he unmercifully teased her into a frenzy. Taking his time as he stroked her with first one digit, then two, then three. After what felt like hours she felt his hand draw away and she moaned at the loss, lifting her head just enough to see what he was doing. She whined loudly when she saw him suck the moisture from his fingers and give her a devilish wink. Her eyes closed and she fought to keep herself from jumping him. This was Natsu right?_

_He took advantage of her momentary distraction. He really took advantage of it. _

_Her eyes shot open and the night was filled with a long wail as his mouth descended on her center. _

**Natsu was PAINFULLY aware of how much she was turning him on as he heard her wail. His body was demanding he rip his clothes off and give them both the satisfaction that they needed, but he fought like hell to keep himself from doing so. Tonight was her night. **

**This had to be the best tasting spot on her body. By far. He just couldn't get enough of it as he licked and teased her. He loved the way her legs trembled and her voice quavered when he gave her opening a long slow lick, and the way she exclaimed loudly when his tongue passed over her clit. In a way that was perfectly Natsu, he viewed this as a battle that he was determined to win.**

**He methodically broke down her defenses, his fighter's brain noting what actions made her weaken and cry out. It didn't take long before she was screaming. His pride swelled as he heard her crying out for him to do all sorts of things to her. He noted some and hoped that he would remember them later. **

**Natsu decided that it was time to deliver the final blow when he heard her voice begin to get higher. Her panting had quickened and she was shaking all over. He hooked her legs over his shoulder and redoubled his efforts, working her up to her peak. He could feel her legs tensing, so he gave one final lick before fastening her lips over her sensitive bundle of nerves and sucking greedily. **

**She shattered.**

_Lucy had never screamed so loudly in all her life. Her mind was wiped completely clean and all that she would feel was a rush of exquisite ecstasy. She screamed until her voice gave out, and even then she continued to shake as her orgasm pulsed through her body, her lips open but not sound coming out. After what seemed like ages she finally felt the sensation ebbing away and she was able to breathe again. _

_She heard a chuckle as the pink haired man crawled back up her body to pull her into his arms. _

"**I love you Lucy," he whispered as he pressed a loving kiss to her forehead. That had been the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. He grinned as she snuggled tighter against his chest and let out a satisfied sigh. **

"_I love you too Natsu…" she murmured sleepily. "Next time it's your turn…"_

They both began to wake up.

* * *

><p><strong>So yeah that was quite...graphic I think... <strong>

**Like I said at the beginning of the chapter, it's difficult to really know how the author would have the characters acting in this sort of situation (although we are all dying to know I'm sure), so there has to be a lot of guesswork involved. **

**I do genuinely think that Natsu would be a biter haha. He's such a wild child and I could definitely imagine him being quite playful in bed and biting Lucy. **

**And I could totally see her being the kind of girl who doesn't want to admit it, but enjoys being bitten. After all, it's been stated in the manga (I think) that Lucy likes assertive men, and I think that Natsu being a biter could translate to him being assertive to her.**

**Anyway thats enough of my rambling! Hope ya'll enjoyed it!**


	20. Chapter 16

**Hello yet again my dearies!**

**I have yet another lovely treat for you tonight! I was really on a roll earlier and I decided to pump out another chapter! Now this one isn't quite the same as the others for the second half but I think that ya'll will appreciate something a little different thrown in! This chapter actually is going to be the basis for a few short spinoffs that I'm planning on writing! You'll know what I mean when you get to those points in the story. *wink***

**I'd just like to say that while I'm very happy with how I wrote the Natsu part of this, I feel like my work got a bit sloppy by the time I finished the second half. I apologize for this! The main point of this chapter was the Natsu section, and I really just added in the other bits to hint at the spinoff projects and to make the chapter a bit longer... **

**But the next chapter will be getting completely back to the main story! The big day is coming up soon! WHAT WILL HAPPEN?**

**As always review and suggestions are welcomed and appreciated!**

** Much love**

**Sabina**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 16<span>

_Two Days Till Lucy's Date_

**Natsu's POV**

This was the part of the training that he had been dreading the most…

Natsu felt very uncomfortable as he sat in front of the group in charge of the third part of his training. They were all in a huddle, whispering to each other and occasionally looking over at him. He really didn't like the looks they were giving him…

The group was made up of Levy, Mirajane, Lisanna, Evergreen, and Freeed… Although there was an extra person who seemed to want to get in on the fun… Cana.

They looked over at him one final time, nodding their heads. Finally they broke apart and came over to where he was sitting in a far corner of the guild.

"Alright Natsu, we have our plan!" said Mira excitedly, while Levy and Lisanna giggled excitedly. The fire dragonslayer had a hunch that there would be lots of giggling all day… He had a really bad feeling about this…

"So… What are we going to do?" he said hesitantly, certain that his day was about to get completely confusing and embarrassing.

"Well first of all we're going to have to relocate," said Freed. "I don't think that we want Lucy coming over and investigating what we are doing." The rest of the group nodded in agreement, Natsu doing so with a great deal of vigor.

"Alrightie then, let's go!" said Cana happily, grabbing Natsu by the arm and dragging him out of the guild. "We're going to make a special exception for today and let you and Freed into Fairy Hills. Juvia, Erza, Gray, and Happy are keeping Lucy distracted today and they agreed to keep her out of the dorm for the day, so there's no chance of her barging in!"

Natsu couldn't get a word in as they began chattering amongst themselves.

"Oh Mira we need to take him shopping as well," said Lisanna excitedly. "If he's going to crash Lucy's date and confess he's gotta look sharp!"

"Oh you're so right! He can't just show up in what he always wears, that's not romantic at all. He'll definitely need our help. We'll make him look so handsome!" gushed the 'She-Devil.' Natsu really thought that the nickname was fitting…especially when Mira had that deviously excited look on her face…

"It's going to be quite a challenge to teach Natsu proper etiquette…" sighed Freed. "We really can't have him acting like a wild animal."

"Lucy for us we got a little info from miss Lucy yesterday on what she likes and doesn't like in a man," said Evergreen, a worrying smile on her face. "We know exactly what kind of rogue-ish behavior Lucy thinks Natsu would exhibit on a date, so it'll be easy to instruct him on what not to do!" Natsu was utterly confused at this.

"Wait hold up! What did you do yesterday? You didn't tell her anything did you?" exclaimed the poor pyro, beginning to panic a little. Levy laughed and shook her head, not seeing the warning look that Mira had given to Evergreen and the one that the take-over mage was directing at her now.

"Don't worry Natsu we didn't give anything away," she said, trying to suppress her giggles. Natsu's look of confusion deepened as he saw that Mira was frantically motioning for Levy to stop talking. The little woman apparently didn't see because she continued. "Juvia brought up the subject of how different you are from Darius and Lu kinda spilled the beans about the kinds of things that she thinks you'd do on a date."

Mira's hand clapped over Levy's mouth and the blunette squeaked in surprise. The white haired woman was looking nervous and was quickly trying to change she subject.

"Yeah yeah, they were just casually talking about what they liked and disliked men to do!" she said loudly, obviously hoping that Natsu hadn't been paying too much attention to what Levy and Evergreen had said. Natsu had been paying attention; very close attention.

"Lucy's thought about going on a date with me?" said Natsu, completely floored. "You've talked to her about how she feels about me haven't you?" he questioned, desperate to find out more. "You've gotta tell me! I won't take another step unless you agree to tell me everything that you know!"

Mira sighed in a defeated sort of way and nodded her head.

"Alright Natsu we'll tell you what we know when we reach Fairy Hills," she said, sounding a little disappointed. "We really wanted you to find out on your own how Lucy felt, so it would be a surprise, but it looks like these two let slip a little too much," said Mira as she pointed at Levy and Evergreen. Evergreen looked a little embarrassed, but Levy just giggled.

"Sorry Mira I was just so excited!" said the bluenette, skipping ahead as they approached the front doors of the dorm. She pulled it open and they all entered, heading up the stairs to Levy's room. Once they were all inside and the door was shut, Freed cast some enchantments on the door and windows.

"Just precautions," he explained when Natsu gave him a questioning look. "There's always a chance that Lucy might escape from Erza and the others." Natsu really hoped that that wouldn't happen.

"Alright guys, spill it. What has Lucy told you?" he burst out, not able to hold it in any longer. He couldn't believe that all this time they had known how Lucy felt about him and had kept it a secret. Yes, they were respecting her privacy, and he wasn't actually upset at them at all about not telling him…. But this was important damnit!

"Yes, yes we'll tell you," said Evergreen exasperatedly. She nodded at Levy, indicating that she should do the explaining. The blunette was practically vibrating in excitement, and she was clearly dying to be the one to reveal the truth.

"Lucy is madly in love with you!" she burst out suddenly, startling everyone in the room. The solid script mage was grinning widely at the stunned look on Natsu's face.

"Lucy… She… She's in love… W-With me?" he stammered. He had to be dreaming again. He was having trouble processing this. His brain had seemed to shut down as most of the blood in his body seemed to be filling up his heart, making it pound painfully. It felt like the poor organ would burst. The rest of his blood seemed to be going straight to his face. It felt hot and he knew that his face must be redder than it had ever been in his whole life. It actually kinda felt like his face was on fire…

"Natsu… Your face is on fire…" said Lisanna. Natsu dazedly looked at her. She and Cana both appeared to be shaking, and he realized that they were trying to prevent themselves from bursting out laughing. He saw that almost everyone in the room was having trouble containing their mirth. Something flickered in front of his eyes and he saw that Lisanna was right, and he hurriedly put out the flames engulfing his head, still blushing intensely.

"So adorable," squealed Mira, clearly thrilled by his reaction to the news.

"Goodness that was quite the sight," managed Evergreen, she was leaning on Freed's shoulder and had been laughing hysterically ever since Natsu's face had lit up. He scowled at them all.

"You guys better stop laughing or I'm going to kick all of your asses…" he muttered, wishing that he could crawl into a hole and never come out.

"We're sorry Natsu," gasped Levy, holding her sides. "That just wasn't the reaction we expected." She wiped her eyes before smiling at him. "Yes Natsu, Lucy is in love with you," she repeated. "She's loved you for a long time now, but she didn't ever think that you'd return her feelings. She's tried getting over it and moving on but she's always had some difficulty doing it. She never really wanted to date anyone else because she still had hope that you'd figure out how you felt…" Levy smiled sadly. "But it looks like now she's ready to give up… You picked a great time to finally get your act together. She basically told Juvia the other day that once she goes on this date she's completely giving up on you…"

Natsu's heart felt like it was being crushed. Why hadn't he realized his feelings sooner…? All this time… Lucy had been hoping for him to notice her… And he had been the world's biggest idiot…

"She… She's been waiting for me all this time?" he said brokenly. He couldn't believe how stupid he was. Maybe he didn't deserve her… How could he expect her to return his feelings after she had been disappointed time and time again for so long?

"I know that look," said Cana sternly, grabbing Natsu by the chin and making him meet her angry gaze. "You're thinking that you're not good enough for her. You're thinking that you don't deserve her because you've taken so long to realize how you feel. Well stop it. You DO deserve Lucy. You deserve her because you've always been there for her when she really needed it and you're the only one who can really make her happy. Just because you dragged your ass getting to this point doesn't mean that you're any less deserving."

He knew why she was getting so annoyed at him. She had gone through something similar with Gildarts, her father. She had been trying to tell him that she was his daughter for years. Finally, she had decided that she needed to become an S-Class mage in order to be worthy of being his daughter. In the end she had realized her mistake and told him, even though the S-Class trial had been abandoned due to the Grimoire Heart attack. Cana wasn't going to let him think that he wasn't worthy to tell Lucy how he felt.

"Yeah… You're right," he said weakly. "I need to tell her."

"Damn right you do," grumbled Cana. "All our hard work is not going to go to waste. Besides, Fairy Tail doesn't fail jobs."

"Well we had better get started then!" said Lisanna, clapping her hands together. "If Lucy is going to give up on Natsu once she's gone on this date we have to make sure that he's ready to tell her how he feels! We can't have her giving up on him forever! They'll be perfect together!"

"You said it!" agreed Mira. She held her face in her hands and sighed. "Oh I can just imagine it now! You two are going to be the cutest couple! I can't wait for the wedding!"

"W-wedding?" stammered Natsu, his head going up in flames again as he imagined Lucy walking down the isle towards him in a long white dress.

"They're going to have the cutest babies!" squealed Levy.

"B-BABIES?!" the poor dragonslayer cried. The flames on his head burned hotter and hotter at the thought of Lucy bearing his children filled his head. The temperature in the room was skyrocketing.

"Natsu! Put those out or my books will catch fire!" yelled Levy in annoyance. Natsu shook his head to clear it and they flames went out, but the blush remained yet again.

"I think that we should take this one step at a time… Let's keep the marriage and baby talk to a minimum. We don't want Fairy Hills burning down," said Freed, and Natsu silently thanked him. The poor slayer was in shock.

"Marriage… Babies…" he mumbled, his eyes glazing over as his mind raced through images of him and Lucy starting a family together. It wasn't that he hated the idea. Quite the opposite in fact, he loved the idea. But the thoughts were a little too much for him since he had just come to accept his emotions.

"Woah there buddy come back to Earthland! You need to get the girl first!" said Cana, pulling out one of her magic cards. It was apparently a water magic card cause he was suddenly doused with water. Steam rolled off him in waves. "That ought to cool you down for a bit."

* * *

><p>The training was just as hard as Natsu had thought it would be. It had taken them hours to walk him through how to properly treat a woman out on a date. The assumption was that when Natsu showed up at Lucy's date with Darius, he would romantically confess his love to her then wisk her away to take her on their own date. They really were being relentless. He had to get absolutely everything right or they'd make him do it again and again.<p>

They had had to resort to a training method that Natsu was definitely not fond of. They had made him stand in one of Freed's enchantment squares and they had quizzed him over and over on things he should say and do.

It had gone a little something like this…

* * *

><p>"<em>Okay Natsu, when get to the table what do you do first?" Levy asked. Natsu could feel sweat dripping down his brow as he frantically tried to remember the correct answer. <em>

"_Uh… Sit down and order the food?" he said hopefully. A buzzing noise filled the air and he swore._

"_Oh fu- ARGH!" he yelled as sharp shock coursed through him. He growled in anger as the sensation ended. _

"_No Natsu, you pull out Lucy's chair and get her settled into her seat first!" she said patiently. _

"_Are the shocks really necessary?" he said angrily. _

"_We tried for two hours without them Natsu and we made absolutely no progress. You're getting it much quicker this way," said Cana, grinning as she lowered the lightning card she was holding._

* * *

><p>Finally when it was beginning to get dark outside, they had deemed him ready.<p>

"Still a little rough around the edges but I think that he'll do fine," said Evergreen tiredly. Natsu wanted to throw a book at her. She hadn't been getting zapped all day.

"Now you go home and get some rest Natsu!" said Lisanna, as they all walked down the stairs to the dorm lobby. "Mira and I are coming to get you in the morning to take you out to get something to wear on your date!" Natsu groaned but he didn't argue. He had to admit that the training had worked. He definitely knew how Lucy wanted to be treated now and he was going to try his hardest to impress her when the time came.

They all said they're goodnights and left for their respective homes.

Natsu didn't even change out of his clothes when he stumbled into his house. He just fell onto his bed and fell into a deep dreamless sleep…

* * *

><p><strong>Erza's POV (Earlier that day)<strong>

Erza had to admit that Lucy really had an eye for fashion. Her friend had managed to pick out quite a few outfits that Erza both liked a lot and that suited her very well. They were in the same store that Lucy had been in when she had met Darius, and Lucy and Juvia were helping Erza to find some less metallic clothing for her closet. It seemed like a good way to keep the blonde distracted while the final part of Natsu's training was going on.

"Oh Erza you look amazing!" gushed her blonde friend, while Juvia nodded vigorously beside her.

"Juvia thinks that you look lovely!" said the water mage happily. Erza was amazed at how quickly the two had bonded over the past few days.

"I really like it," said Erza, smiling happily. She really did. The clingy blue dress fitted her like a glove. It was strapless and reached halfway down her thighs, and although it was rather plain, it still seemed very fashionable when she looked at herself in the mirror.

"Lucy really has a knack for picking out clothes!" said Juvia, hugging the celestial spirit mage happily. "She helped Juvia pick out the outfit she's wearing now!"

The blunette was wearing an outfit that was very different from her usual conservative style. She had on a sleeveless light blue blouse with a plunging neckline and sprinkled with crystals that looked like glimmering snowflakes, a white leather jacket similar to the black one that Lucy was wearing, and a short white skirt reached about a third of the way down her thighs, showing off her long pale legs. Erza had to admit that it really suited the woman.

"Aren't your legs cold though?" she asked, thinking that the water mage must be freezing with winter rapidly approaching.

"Juvia is a little cold… But Juvia also really wanted to show Gray-sama her new look today!" said Juvia excitedly. Erza smiled and shook her head. Of course she'd brave the elements in order to try to impress Gray. All three of them turned when a voice called out to Lucy.

"Well well well… Look who it is! I was just here to check up on how the styles I brought over were doing but I never expected to get such a treat. Lucy baby you look stunning today," said the young man that was approaching him. By his words and the light blush that was coloring Lucy's cheeks, Erza guessed that this was Darius from Blue Pegasus.

"It's a little early to be calling me baby, Darius!" said Lucy, obviously embarrassed as he took her hand and kissed it gently. Erza and Juvia shared a worried glance. They hadn't expected this.

"My apologies Lucy, I was just so excited to see you. Your little blue friend gave you the flowers?" said Darius smoothly, his eyes roaming appreciatively over Lucy. She was too busy blushing and introducing him to her guildmates to notice, but Erza and Juvia saw.

_He's very polite. But I can tell that he's mostly interested in Lucy for her body…_

Erza politely shook Darius' hand when Lucy introduced her to him, but she gripped a little tighter than she normally would, making the young man wince.

"That's quite the grip you've got Miss Erza!" he said, trying to keep his smooth tone and obviously struggling a little. Erza smirked a little as she saw him rub his sore hand with the other when Lucy wasn't looking.

"Juvia has heard a lot about you," said the water mage to the Blue Pegasus mage when Lucy introduced them. Erza wrinkled her nose in contempt when he saw the young man give Juvia a once over as well. This guy definitely wasn't right for Lucy. He seemed like a player.

"Well I hope it's all good! I don't want you thinking that I'd mistreat Lucy," said Darius, winking at Lucy and she blushed. Erza rolled her eyes. "I almost forgot Lucy, I was going to ask you to come to lunch with me the other day but you were busy… Would it be alright if I borrowed her for a few hours?" he said to the other Fairy Tail women. This wasn't good, they couldn't let Lucy go off with this guy before her date in case she decided to give up on Natsu too early.

"Well you see, we were waiting on-…" began Erza, but she was cut off as a bright blue shape zipped up to them.

"Sorry! We've got plans already!" said Happy, 'accidentally' flicking Darius in the face with his tail as he few in circles above their heads. Lucy looked like she was going to protest, but she didn't have time to begin before Gray entered the shop behind Happy and joined the little group.

"Yeah we've got some stuff to discuss for our next mission, and we need Lucy with us," said the ice mage cooly. Darius seemed a little confused by the fact that Gray didn't have a shirt on but the expression on the maker mage's face told him that he wouldn't be able to get Lucy away from them this time.

"Well I guess I'll have to wait for Friday night then," he said resignedly. He kissed Lucy on the hand again, causing the other Fairy Tail members to roll their eyes and Happy to make pretend vomiting faces, and then left the shop.

"Well he seems like quite the smooth talker," said Gray, his tone suggesting that he didn't like the young man one bit. Lucy was still blushing and looking at the back of her hand, so she didn't really notice her friends' dislike of Darius.

"Yes, Juvia agrees. Quite the gentleman," said Juvia sarcastically. Erza's attention focused on Gray when she saw his face as he looked at Juvia. He was starting at her with his mouth slightly open, obviously surprised by her sudden change in appearance. It seemed like Lucy had also given Juvia some advice on how to act around Gray as well, as the water mage wasn't fawning over him as she usually did.

Erza smiled and silently wished the bluenette luck. She and Gray definitely had chemistry; it was obvious when you looked at their magic. Ice and water, it was fitting.

She sighed a little to herself as she made her purchases and they left the shop. She couldn't help but notice that she was the only member of Team Natsu that wasn't on her way to a happy relationship. Sure she had no end of suitors attempting to knock at the door of Fairy Hills on a daily basis, she had actually had Freed set up an enchantment that kept out any man who had the intention of asking her out from getting anywhere near the building, but there was really only one man that she was interested in…

"Oh Jellal…" she muttered to herself quietly.

"Erza did you say something?" asked Lucy, looking at her curiously. Erza frantically shook her head.

"Oh no not at all!" she said, a little embarrassed that she had been caught daydreaming. She resolved to keep her childhood friend out of her mind for the rest of the day.

She was only mildly successful.

* * *

><p><strong>Happy's POV<strong>

The little exceed was in quite a good mood when he and Lucy returned to her home that evening. They had successfully kept Darius from getting to Lucy too early, and he had taken note of a few things that were bound to start some excitement in the guild soon…

Happy was a very curious little fellow. He was always on the lookout for some juicy bit of gossip, cause he usually got fish from Mira whenever he told her about something that he had seen. He had seen quite a few things that day that the take-over mage would be dying to hear about. He ran over them in his head as he lay curled up in his spot on Lucy's pillow. Lucy had fallen asleep quite some time ago, exhausted from the long day of shopping.

Firstly there was Gray's newfound interest in Juvia. Happy had thought that Gray was being painfully obvious in the way that he was constantly checking out Juvia while the group had been shopping around Magnolia that day. The ice mage couldn't seem to take his eyes off of Juvia, and she seemed to know it. But instead of giving him all the attention that she usually did, Juvia spent most of her time talking animatedly with Lucy, which seemed to puzzle Gray to no end. Happy snickered to himself at the puzzled look on the ice mage's face when Juvia had actually asked Happy for his opinion on an outfit rather than him.

Happy was also excited to tell Mira about Erza's odd behavior. The red haired woman had seemed very lost in thought throughout the day, and Happy had a good idea why. He had heard her loud and clear when she had said Jellal's name to herself.

_Poor Erza… I know Jellal thinks that keeping himself away from her is a way for him to repent, but it's really hurting them both… Maybe Mira will have some ideas on how to get them together. I don't like seeing Erza depressed like that. _

The final bit of gossip that Happy had for Mira wasn't actually about anyone from their little shopping group. He had picked up this nice little bit of information purely by accident as he and Lucy had been on their way back to her home. While walking along the canal, they had passed by Fairy Hills, and his sharp eyes had picked out something odd in the gathering night.

Someone had been leaning against a tree beneath Levy's window, looking up at the light that was emanating from it. Happy had told Lucy to wait a moment, saying that he had seen Carla and needed to tell her something, before flying quietly over to a bush near the tree. He had slowly peeked over the top of the bush, the phrase 'curiosity killed the cat' not really occurring to him until he recognized the figure leaning against the tree.

It was Gajeel!

Happy had hurriedly flown away before the dragonslayer caught his scent and beat him to a pulp. As he flew he grinned a little to himself. It seemed that Natsu wasn't the only lovesick dragonslayer around town.

Happy sighed contentedly and snuggled more deeply into the pillow. He really was looking forward to getting his fish reward from Mira the next day…


	21. Chapter 17

**Hello my lovelies!**

**Sorry for the delay on this one! I just started my second fic and my brain needed a bit of a break from this first one. But now that I've done my first couple of chapters for my second fic I'm ready to get back into this one! **

**(By the way I'm going to shamlessly advertise my other fic now... You should definitely go check it out. It's gonna be a long one, full of lemons and lots of pairings. I made my own characters... I'm pretty proud of myself. It's going to be a lot more comical than this more serious work.)**

**Anyway! This chapter is going to be a little shorter than the others but that's all on purpose, not from writer's block. The chapter after this one is probably going to be a little shorter too, but the one after THAT is gonna be super intense... Hold onto your butts everyone...**

**I'm really happy with how this one turned out. After taking a break from it for a few days my brain feels really refreshed and full of ideas. I might even do the chapter after this one tonight, as well as another for my second fic. I have all these good ideas in my head and I just gotta get them out before they get lost!**

**I'll stop rambling now and let ya'll read!**

**As always, leave a review and let me know if you have any suggestions!**

**Much love**

**Sabina**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 17<span>

_The Day Before Lucy's Date_

**Natsu's POV**

Natsu groaned sleepily as he heard another bout of pounding on his front door. He opened his eyes a crack and saw very bright morning light coming through his window. It still had to be really early in the morning... Who was trying to break his door down this early?

"Natsu Dragneel you open this door right now! We've got a lot of stuff to do today!" yelled a woman's voice. He recognized it as Lisanna. He groaned and rolled over, wanting to get a little more sleep.

"Five more minutes Lisanna!" he called, trying to drop back off to sleep. He shot up as another, scarier female voice shouted at him.

"Natsu open this door or I'm breaking it down!"

It was Mira, and from the sound of it she was in her Satan Soul form. Natsu rocketed out of his bed and ran to the door, opening it before Mira came in and beat him to a pulp.

"There! I'm wide awake now, ya happy?" he panted, still slightly terrified. The two women smiled at him as they stood innocently just outside his front door.

"Yep! Now hurry up and get dressed! We're taking you shopping!" said Lisanna excitedly. Natsu groaned again. He had forgotten... Apparently he had to dress up when he confessed to Lucy.

Ten minutes later they were entering Magnolia's shopping district. Natsu was wolfing down some food he had gotten from a vendor as they had walked. He wasn't going to be dragged along shopping on an empty stomach.

"Alright then... Time to find you some dressy clothes," said Mira excitedly. She and Lisanna pulled the reluctant Natsu into the men's formal store. Natsu felt very out of place here. He was used to wearing clothes that were good for fighting in, not for looking good. He stared around the store not knowing what to do.

"So do you see anything that you like Natsu?" asked Lisanna, and Natsu shrugged in answer.

"You do realize that I have no idea what I'm doing right?" he said, giving her a pained look. "Why can't I just wear my normal clothes? Lucy won't care will she?" He cowered at the glare they gave him.

"Natsu do you want this to be special for Lucy or not?" said Mira, her tone indicating that he had better chose the right answer.

"Yes?" he said, scared that she'd get angry and transform in to her Satan Soul form again. She smiled and patted him on the head.

"Good answer! Don't worry, we'll help you!" she said, taking his arm and dragging him down an isle. Lisanna was right on their heels.

"I think we should put him in red Mira," said the younger sister excitedly, holding up a flame-red dress shirt. "Look! This even has a little gold dragons on the collar and cuffs!" Natsu examined the shirt, still unsure about this whole thing.

"I like the dragons," he said cautiously. Mira and Lisanna beamed at him.

"Progress! Let's not overcomplicate things and just go with this one. If we show him too many he may get confused," said Mira. Lisanna giggled and Natsu scowled at them. He was going to be so glad once this was over...

Next they had him try on pants, and he was surprised at how long it took to find the right pair. He thought that the first pair he tried on were just fine, but they had both rejected them and made him try on five more that all looked the same to him. When they had finally agreed on the pants they had picked out black dress shoes and a tie. Natsu hated ties... He felt like he was being strangled a little when he had to wear one. They had managed to find one that matched the red shirt, black with little golden dragons on it.

The fire dragonslayer was relieved when they had had him try it all on at once and had deemed him presentable.

"Oh Lucy is going to love it!" exclaimed Mira, clapping her hands in excitement.

"She really is, you look very handsome Natsu!" agreed Lisanna.

Natsu looked at himself in the mirror. He had to admit that he didn't look half bad. Not quite like himself but the dragons on his shirt and tie made him feel a bit better. At least they were fitting in a way.

He changed back into his normal clothes and Mira told them to wait outside as she went up to the counter with Natsu's money to pay. Shopkeepers tended to be afraid of the pink haired dragonslayer and they thought it would be best if they got him out of the store as quickly as possible, just in case.

They walked a little ways down the street as they waited for Mira, looking at the window displays of a few shops. Lisanna gasped in delight when they stopped in front of a wedding dress shop.

"Wow these are beautiful!" she exclaimed, gazing longingly at the pretty white dresses. Natsu had to admit they actually were pretty. He blushed harshly as he imagined Lucy in one, but he managed to keep his head from bursting into flame this time.

"Uh yeah they are..." he said, trying to keep the images of Lucy in the dresses out of his mind. Lisanna saw his face and winked at him.

"You never know Natsu, you could be seeing Lucy in one of these soon! She'd make a great wife!" she teased. Natsu stared at her, a memory suddenly brought to the front of his mind. A long time ago Lisanna had wanted to be his wife... He felt a little guilty when he thought of that... She had really seemed to want to... Admitedly they had both been little kids but girls could be strange like that...

Apparently she had seen his troubled expression and guessed what was bothering him. She smiled warmly at him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Natsu, don't feel bad. We were kids. Maybe if things had happened differently... No. Even if I hadn't been sent to Edolas, you'd still find your way to Lucy," she said, surprising him. "You and Lucy are made for each other Natsu. You bring out the best in her and she brings out the best in you. You both fight with all your heart and soul to protect each other. There's a reason you met her in Hargeon that day... That wasn't a coincidence. That was fate bringing you two together. Just think of all the things that you two have done together! You and Lucy are soulmates, and that's exactly how it's meant to be." He stared at her, eyes wide and bright, tears threatening to drip from them.

"Lisanna...I-..." he began, but she cut him off with a wave of her hand and a smile.

"Nope, nothing to apologize for. As long as you're happy, I'm happy. You're my best friend, and you always will be. But I could never be as special to you as Lucy is. So stop crying and be happy ok?" Natsu wiped his eyes on his sleeve and nodded.

"Everything alright?" asked Mira as she caught up to them. Natsu smiled and nodded at her.

"Yeah, Lisanna was just giving me a pep talk!"

* * *

><p><strong>Lucy's POV<strong>

"I haven't seen Natsu in days... I wonder how his training is going...?" Lucy said to herself as she got dressed. Happy had already left to go to the guild and she was about to head there herself. She had decided to go and get some last minute advice from Cana before going on her date. The card magic mage was always talking about the dates she went on, and she might have some useful advice. "I should stop by his place and check on him before going to the guild."

Five minutes later she was walking up the dirt path to Natsu and Happy's house. She had to admit she was fond of the little cottage, even though she didn't live there it felt like home to her. She trotted the last few steps to the front door and knocked.

"Natsu? Are you in there?" she called after a minute, knocking again. She peered in through the window. It was dark inside and Natsu didn't appear to be home.

"Maybe he went out on a job..." she said to herself as she walked back down the path and began heading for the guild. She was a little disappointed that she hadn't found him there. She was feeling conflicted about her date the next evening and had thought that seeing her best friend might have helped her feel better... She laughed a little to herself, not a happy laugh but a cold one. How was seeing Natsu, the man she'd never have, going to make her feel better about going on her date with Darius, the man she was settling for?

_I really must be an idiot..._

She sighed sadly as she entered the guild hall. Some of her guildmates called out in greeting to her but she just waved at them half-heartedly instead of calling back like she usually did. She spotted Cana at a table and flopped herself down across from her friend.

"What's wrong Lucy? You look pretty down in the dumps," said Cana, before taking a sip of her drink. Lucy shrugged and hoped that Cana would be able to help her with her predicament.

"I don't know. I want to go on this date, but something about it is just bumming me out right now... I guess a little part of me is still holding out for Natsu. I wish that part of me would just go away..." she said gloomily. Cana patted her hand in sympathy.

"I still say that you should just talk to Natsu, he might surprise you," she said. Lucy scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Cana I've said it before and I'll say it again... It's Natsu. I know he'll never love me back," she said. Cana looked like she was about to say something but she bit her tongue and stayed silent, so Lucy went on. "Besides, Darius is a nice guy. Quite the gentleman in fact. I may grow to like him even more after my date tomorrow, and maybe then I'll be able to get over Natsu..."

"Come on Lucy just tell him how you feel!" Cana blurted out. "I don't think that this Darius guy is right for you, he'll proabably just turn out to be some slimy dude only interested in getting into your panties!" Lucy angrily got to her feet.

"I am sick and tired of everyone telling me to admit my feelings to Natsu! It's never going to happen. I'm going on my date with Darius. I don't care if he's just trying to get into my pants. At least it'll be a distraction from getting my heart broken!" she said furiously, hot tears streaming down her face. She quickly turned away and ran from the guild hall, not stopping till she had reached her home and slammed the door shut. She sank to the floor with her back against the cold wood. Sobs wracked her body as she held her head in her hands. Why had she fallen in love with Natsu, why? She wailed and clutched at her chest as she cursed herself over and over.

"Lucy?" said a voice. It was Happy. The little blue exceed came over and crawled into her lap, hugging her tightly. "Lucy what's wrong? Why are you crying?" he asked, his little face filled with pain at her sadness. She hugged him tightly and shook her head.

"I don't want to talk about it Happy... It hurts too much..." she sobbed. The little cat didn't say anything else, but he hugged her tighter. She continued to sit there and cry for a long time... The sky was red as the sun set by the time she had finished crying...

Happy had stayed in her arms the whole time that she was crying. She was so appreciative of that fact. After getting up from the cold floor she slowly made her way to the kitchen and made them dinner, not saying a word. Happy was the only one who spoke., telling her about his day. She was glad for the distraction. She thanked him by making his favorite type of food, it was all she could do really.

When they had finished eating Lucy bathed and then got into bed. She was so exhausted...

She plummeted into her dream world...

* * *

><p><strong>Natsu's POV<strong>

Lucy had been to his house. He could easily pick up her scent, even hours after it had begun to fade. He longed to go and see her... It had been days since he had seen her, and he felt an ache in his chest when he inhaled her sweet scent. But he couldn't... He had to wait till tomorrow.

He dropped the bag containing his new clothes on his couch and made his way into his bedroom. He sank down onto the bed with a sigh, and rolled onto his back to stare up at the ceiling.

_Tomorrow... Tomorrow I'll tell Lucy I love her..._

Natsu could feel his heart pounding at the thought... He knew that she loved him... The others wouldn't lie to him about that. But a part of him was terrified that she'd reject him, that she'd tell him he had waited too long... He silently sent out a plea to his father, Igneel...

_Dad... Please... Lend me the strength to do this... I can't live without her... She's everything to me..._

He slipped quietly into sleep...sinking into the dream world...


	22. Chapter 18

**Hello my lovely readers!**

**UGH this chapter was so much fun to write. I really opened the tap on the feels guys. You may want to keep some tissues handy. Holy crap...**

**The next chapter will be the dawn of the big day! Who's excited? *raises hand* I am and I'm the author and I know what's going to happen, so I can only imagine how ya'll are feeling. I promise the feels will be off the charts.**

**A little update! I have decided that there will be more or more sequals to this story! *gasp* I feel like I didn't spend enough time on the other pairings I wanted to go so I'm going to be doing seperate stories that will take place after this one! Yay!**

**Also going to shamelessly promote my other fic as well. Chapter 3 of that is now up and I might be adding another one tonight. Having so much fun writing Sting's part for that fic. I'm really making life difficult for him in it...I'm so bad... *giggle***

**I won't make ya'll wait any longer... Enjoy the chapter!**

**Leave a review or a suggestion! I absolutely love hearing what you guys think!**

**Much love**

**Sabina**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 18<span>

**"Lucy? Where are you?" called Natsu. He was standing on the sunny hill from the second dream he had shared with Lucy. The sunlight was bright and a light breeze rustled through the grass as he looked around for her. "LUCY!" he shouted, wondering if she was hiding from him. He was about to start walking around to look for her when a dark shadow suddenly moved across the sun. A loud roar filled the air and Natsu was buffeted by an immense gust of wind, and the dragonslayer flung his arms up to protect his face. Something slammed down to the ground in front of him. He slowly lowered his arms and opened his eyes. **

**"Dad...?"**

**An immense red dragon stood regally in front of Natsu. His huge wings flapped once more before folding themselves in to tuck tightly against his body. He was covered in old battle scars, and Natsu knew the story behind each one... The huge red head swung down, so that Natsu was looking into one burning eye.**

**"Hello Natsu, my son," rumbled Igneel.**

**"Dad..." Natsu said shakily, tears pouring down his face. "I... I've been looking for you for so long... Where are you? I know it's not really you...this is a dream..." The dragon rumbled low in his chest, looking at his foster son with a mixture of love and sorrow.**

**"I may not be with in physically, but I am with you in spirit," he said, causing Natsu to stare at him with wide, shocked eyes.**

**"So... It's really you dad?" he asked, a glimmer of hope in his heart. The dragon chuckled and butted the young man gently with his head.**

**"Yes Natsu it's me... You needed me, so I came," he said. Natsu cried out in joy and flung his arms around the great beast's snout. He cried unashamedly, overjoyed to finally be seeing and speaking to his father again... Even if it was in a dream.**

**"Igneel I have so much to tell you," Natsu said, wiping the tears from his eyes. The dragon smiled in the odd way that he did and shook his head.**

**"I know Natsu... But there will be time for that later. I don't have long, the spell needed to enter your dreams takes up a lot of energy and I need to conserve my strength," said the dragon. Natsu hung his head in disappointment. "Don't be like that Natsu," said Igneel butting his foster son gently again. "There will be plenty of time to talk later. I promise," he said gently, knowing how much it was hurting Natsu to not know where he was.**

**"Alright... So why did you come here now?" asked Natsu, pushing away his disappointment. He was the Son of Igneel, he could handle this. Igneel chuckled.**

**"You tell me Natsu, you know why you called me," he said. Natsu thought of his plea to the dragon before he had fallen asleep.**

**"I asked you to give me the strength to tell Lucy I love her," he said. Igneel nodded, giving his son another smile.**

**"Yes. I can't physically make you strong enough to do this. This doesn't require physical strength... But I can help you to find the courage to do what is needed to claim your mate," the great dragon said. Natsu gave his foster father a confused look.**

**"How can you do that?" he asked. Igneel chuckled and settled himself on the ground, curling up in the way he had used to when they were having long talks that Natsu remembered so fondly.**

**"Why don't you start by telling me about this woman, Natsu. Tell me everything. Hold nothing back," he said as Natsu sat down cross-legged in front of him.**

**Natsu talked for what seemed like hours. He told Igneel everything about Lucy. What she looked like, and how beautiful he thought she was. He described how she laughed and how her eyes sparkled when she did so. He spoke of how much she loved Fairy Tail and everyone in it, how she would do anything for her friends. Natsu felt tears in his eyes when he told Igneel about how she had cried after seeing all the gifts that her father had sent her on her birthday, even when they had all been missing on Tenrou Island. He told the red dragon every last detail that he could remember about Lucy.**

**When he had finally finished Natsu took a deep breath. Letting out everything had shaken him emotionally. He felt raw, exposed. But in a way he felt better. He had examined every nuance of his feelings for Lucy. He had admitted to everything he felt and thought about her. He now understood his feelings for her on a deeper level. And he knew that when he awoke, he would remember this particular dream.**

**"So Natsu, tell me," rumbled Igneel. "Do you know why you two have been sharing dreams?" Natsu looked at Igneel in surprise.**

**"We thought it had something to do with the fact that I'm a dragonslayer," he said, and Igneel nodded.**

**"That's right. Your dragonslaying magic has had a direct effect on your soul. It has given you the soul of a dragon," said the great dragon, smiling fondly at his son. "In possessing a dragon's soul, you also possess many traits that we dragons have. One of those is your desire to search for your lifemate. You were lucky since had already found your mate before the dreams began. Those dreams are a subconscious link to a dragonslayer's mate, and they are what helps him to seek out and claim her. They are the undeniable proof that this Lucy Heartfilia is the woman you are destined to spend the rest of your life with..." said Igneel, his voice full of pride and compassion for the young man. Natsu felt the warm tears of joy sliding down his face as he grinned up at his father.**

**"You'll like her dad... She's amazing..." he said. Igneel nuzzled him gently.**

**"Natsu, you are my son and she is your mate," he said warmly. "Of course I already like her."**

**The air around them seemed to shiver. Igneel raised his head and looked at the sky.**

**"It seems as if our time is up Natsu," said the dragon sadly. He brough his head back down and brushed against his son one last time. "Be strong, Natsu. A dragon must always protect his mate, and I know that you will protect her till your last breath. I believe in you, and I know that you'll be able to claim her as your own," he said, and Natsu nodded. He brushed away the tears from his eyes. The great Flame Dragon King rose to his feet, unfurling his wings. He gave his son one last fond look.**

**"I'm proud of you Natsu, and my heart is always with you," he said, before pumping his great wings and soaring up into the air. Natsu watched as he roared and flew swiftly into the distance.**

**"Thanks Dad..."**

**The dream began to change.**

* * *

><p><em>"Natsu where are you?" called Lucy, fear in her voice. This dream was different from the others. Instead of the sunny hill or the moonlit lake, Lucy found herself running through her family's old mansion. Natsu was nowhere in sight. She ran from door to door, yanking each open and desperately searching for the man she loved.<em>

_"Natsu! I'm scared! Where are you?" she screamed, tears flowing down her face. She reached the door that opened into her parent's room. She hesitated a moment, conflicted. She hadn't been in that room since her mother had died. But she had to look..._

_She flung the door open wide, and was blinded by the bright sunlight coming through the tall window across from the door. She covered her eyes with her arm, the light was bright and it made her eyes sting. She froze as a soft voice called to her._

_"Lucy... Darling you've grown up into such a beautiful woman..."_

_Tears fell freely from her eyes and she shivered as she recognized the voice. She hadn't heard it in years but she would never forget it._

_"M-mom...?" she sobbed, as she slowly lowered her arms and looked at the woman standing by the window. She was beautiful, like an older version of Lucy, but still almost identical to her. She was wearing one of the lovely dresses that Lucy had known so well..._

_"It's me Lucy," said her mother, smiling warmly at her daughter. Lucy cried aloud and flung herself into her mother's embrace. She wailed loudly as joy filled her heart. She didn't care if this was a dream, she had finally seen her mother's face again after so long. Layla Heartfilia hugged her daughter tightly, smoothing her hand over Lucy's hair and making soothing noises. After a few minutes Lucy managed to calm down a little and release her mother._

_"Mom... I can't tell you how happy I am to see you... Even if this is a dream..." she said, wiping her eyes. Layla smiled at her again and motioned for Lucy to sit with her on the couch at the end of the bed. She brushed a strand of hair out of Lucy's face._

_"Yes, this is a dream. But your magic has allowed my spirit to cross over into your subconscious for a brief time," she explained. Lucy didn't understand._

_"But... How could my magic do that? I've never heard of a spell like that..." she said. Her mother smiled warmly at her and took her hand._

_"Lucy, do you remember what I told you when you were young? What I believed the One True Magic to be?" she said, and Lucy nodded immediately._

_"Love," she said. Layla nodded._

_"Yes love. Lucy my darling you've been conflicted lately... Your heart is in turmoil and you don't know what to do... Your magic responded to that and sought me out. It brought me over into your mind so that we could speak," she said. Lucy was amazed. Layla saw her expression and laughed softly. "Magic truly is a wondrous and mysterious thing isn't it?"_

_"Yes it is... Oh mom... I don't know what to do... Everyone says that Natsu has feelings for me... I know that it's true in these dreams... But... My conscious self finds it so hard to believe. I want for him to love me so much that it hurts. I love him so much mom... He's been there for me for so long... Ever since I ran away from home and joined Fairy Tail. He's protected me, made me laugh, comforted me... He's done so much for me... But I can't stand being in love with him anymore! It hurts! I just want to move on and go back to the way things were between us before!" she cried, tears flowing down her face again. Her mother hugged her tightly as she cried, patiently waiting until she was a little calmer before speaking._

_"Lucy honey... Is that what you really want? We can't just change how we feel. It's not that easy... Some part of you will always love this man..." she said, stroking Lucy's hair as she held her. Lucy sniffed and shrugged her shoulders._

_"I don't know what I want anymore... I want to wait for him... Part of me believes that he may love me... But another part of me is tired of waiting and hurting... I don't know what to do..." she said, her heart squeezing painfully in her chest. She sat up and looked at her mother. Layla was smiling sadly at her, her eyes filled with love and sympathy at her daughters plight._

_"Darling... The only thing that you can do is listen to what your heart tells you," she said. "All you can do is listen to it. When you go out with this new young man, listen to what it says when you're with him. It will tell you what you what you truly want." Lucy sniffed again and nodded. Her mother was right. She couldn't just mope around and cry about her problem. All she could do was go out and let her heart decide what she would do._

_"You're right mom..." she said, finally managing a smile. Layla beamed at her._

_"Lucy... You have grown up into such a strong and beautiful mage... I'm so proud of you. I know that you've taken good care of the celestial spirits I entrusted to you," said Layla, her voice full of love and warmth. Lucy smiled and hugged her._

_"They some of my dearest friends mom... You have to go now don't you?" she said sadly, and Layla sighed._

_"I'm afraid so honey... But you will get through this... You are my strong, wonderful daughter."_

_Lucy's heart swelled at her mother's praise. Her mother kissed her gently on the cheek then rose, her body shining and beginning to fade away._

_"I love you mom!" Lucy said, tears once again flowing down her face._

_"I love you too Lucy... Forever and always..."_

_Lucy's dream changed_

* * *

><p><em>She was back on the edge of the moonlit lake, staring out over the waters with tears still streaming from her eyes. She didn't move when she felt a pair of warm arms envelop her from behind, and a soft pair of lips brushed against her cheek<em>.

**"Lucy..."**

_His voice was low and soft. She knew he had seen her tears._

_"I saw my mother..." she whispered, her tone happy but still tinged with a faint sadness from their parting. She felt Natsu squeeze her gently._

**"And I saw Igneel," he said. He had had a feeling that Lucy would have a similar experience as him. Both of their lives were about to change forever and it was only natural that their parents had come to them in their time of need. Just like he knew he and Lucy would if they had children of their own.**

**"It all happens tomorrow..." he said quietly, content to just hold her for the time being.**

_Lucy nodded slowly. She felt strangely at peace, even though she knew that tomorrow would be an emotional day. She leaned back against Natsu's warm body, feeling safe in his arms. She felt him press his lips against her cheek again and she turned her head so that she caught his lips with her own._

_The kiss was soft and slow, a kiss between two people who loved each other more than life itself. She turned in his arms so that she could twine her arms around his neck. He growled softly in enjoyment as the kiss deepened, his arms tightening around her waist. She loved that sound, it made her heart flutter every time she heard it._

**He would never ever get enough of her. She was so sweet and lush, everything about her was beautiful. He swiped his tongue across her bottom lip and she parted her lips to give him access. He reviled in the taste of her, the way her tongue tangled with his. He growled low in his throat again and pushed her gently up against a nearby tree.**

**"Lucy," he whispered hoarsely. He was on fire with need, desperate to feel every inch of her and to plunge into her warmth. He began placing rough kisses and love bites along her neck and shoulders, her gasps egging him on and driving him wild.**

_Lucy moaned as he kissed her neck. His lips were hot and she shivered whenever his teeth scraped against her skin. She was lost in a whirlwind of sensation, all because of this wonderful man who held her. A memory stirred in the back of her mind and she suddenly pushed him away. He looked hurt and confused at her rejection, but she just smiled at him wickedly._

_"Not this time Natsu," she murmured, pulling him around and pushing him up against the tree instead. "I told you... This time it's your turn..."_

**He groaned at the look on her face as she pushed him against the tree roughly. Her eyes were hazy with lust and her lips were parted as she panted excitedly. She looked so damn sexy... She kissed him again, her fingers tangling roughly in his hair, making him growl again.**

_"Don't move, just let me make you feel good..." she whispered in his ear before beginning to press wet kisses to his neck and shoulders._

**Natsu moaned loudly at the sensations coursing through his body. Her lips were soft and did all sorts of wonderful things to his body as she kisses her way down his trembling form. She paused on his chest to bite gently on one of his pecs, making him hiss. She smirked up at him and continued her way down his stomach. Taking lots of time to run her hot tongue over his abs.**

**She bent over and reached the waistband of his pants and pulled them down a little, swiping her tongue over the sensitive skin just above his groin. He gasped loudly as his legs trembled, his body responding to the stimulus. Lucy apparently liked his reaction because she did it again, slowly dragging just the tip of her tongue across his heated skin. He wished that she would just touch him there already... He member was throbbing painfully for her hands or her mouth.**

**"Fuck Luce..." he panted, unsure how long his legs would be able to support him.**

_Lucy loved the feel of Natsu's body. When she ran her hands over his torso she could feel the power of his muscles hidden beneath his smooth skin. She stood up long enough to push his vest from his shoulders; she wanted to see all of him when he came undone._

_She kissed her way down his body again, a little faster this time, but still stopping occasionally to nip at his skin or to suck greedily and leave a dark red mark. She could feel him trembling as he panted and moaned at her ministrations. Once she was back at his waist she dropped gently to her knees and looked up at the fire dragonslayer. He was gazing down at her, his glazed eyes half-lidded and his lips parted as he panted. He had such a pleading look on his fact that Lucy took some pity on him and slowly pulled his pants down, leaving his boxers on. She could clearly see how turned on he was, and she licked her lips before leaning in and pressing a kiss to his still covered length._

**Natsu gasped at the feel of her lips on his dick. He desperately wanted to remove the layer of cloth between those sweet lips and his aching problem, but he knew that she would just swat his hand away if he tried. This was her payback for what happened in the last dream.**

**He moaned as her small hand cupped him through the fabric squeezing him gently. His moan turned into a yell as she pumped his length once through his boxers.**

**"Please...please Luce I can't stand it...I need more..." he whimpered, sure that he was going to die from the ache in his loins. He almost cried out in relief when she slid his boxers down and he stood naked in front of her. He groaned as she eyed his length hungrily and began to reach her hand out slowly to grasp him. It felt like ages before he felt her fingers lightly brush against his shaft.**

_Lucy smirked in satisfaction as he bucked into her hand at her light touch. She grasped his length lightly, slowly dragging her hand up and down the hot length. He moaned and tried to thrust his hips but she loosened her grip when he did and he immediately stopped. She slowly began pumping him again, gripping him a little tighter but not enough to hurt him. He whimpered and she felt herself getting wet at the sexy sound. She had tormented him enough._

_She leaned forward and swiped her tongue all the way up his length. He cried out and she immediately did it again in. She loved the noises he made. They made her feel sexy and powerful. She swirled her tongue around his tip before slowly taking him into her mouth. Natsu was trembling violently now and she felt his whole body spasm when she gave a single hard suck on his member._

**"Lucy... So good..." he whined.**

_She hummed in delight, still with his length in her mouth. Natsu spasmed again when she did. Her eyes glinted mischievously and she began to slowly suck on him all the while continuing to hum._

**Natsu felt like he was going to pass out. The feeling of her warm mouth around him had almost been too much, but when she had started humming around his length he knew that he wouldn't last long. Her tongue would swirl around his head when she pulled back and he was just barely inside her mouth, and then her lips would slowly descent back down his length, giving a hard suck once she had gone as far as she could.**

**He raised a shaking hand and placed it on the back of her head, sifting his fingers into her long golden hair.**

**"Please Luce, faster," he begged. She responded by increasing her pace a little, making him moan and grip her hair tighter. He began to gently buck his hips, thrusting a little into her mouth. Her hands came up to grip his backside and he could feel her gently encouraging his movements. God he loved this woman...**

_Lucy worked him thoroughly, wanting him to feel just as good as he had made her feel previously. Her tongue and lips never stopped moving as she continued to pleasure him. The faster she got, the more he moaned and shook. She could tell that he was getting close, and she redoubled her efforts. Her teeth delicately scraped his skin and he cried out in a mixture of pain and pleasure. Her head bobbed back and forth quickly now, desperate to push him over the edge to his release._

**Natsu could feel his orgasm coming. He felt a harsh tingle at the base of his spine as she continued to devour him. He was moaning loudly, saying her name over and over and gasping. Her small hand reached up to squeeze his sac gently as she moved faster than ever. There was no way he could fight off his rapidly approaching release. He looked down at her and his eyes locked with hers as he felt himself plunge over his peak.**

**"Lucy!" he yelled, his voice breaking as he came hard. His body spasmed over and over as she drank him in, and the words 'I love you' tumbled over and over from his lips. She gave his still pulsing length a greedy suck and he screamed as his orgasm was prolonged and he writhed in ecstasy. Finally she removed him from her mouth and stood. It was all Natsu could do to just remain standing as his legs shook and he slowly came back to himself. He was gasping for breath as he looked at her, her hair disheveled and her cheeks pink.**

**"I love you, Lucy" he murmered and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. The sky had begun to lighten and he could feel the stirring of his real body. The dream was almost over.**

_"I love you too Natsu," she whispered, a single tear falling down her cheek as she began to return to the real world._


	23. Chapter 19

**Hello my lovelies!**

**No rambling at the beginning of this chapter. This isn't the last chapter, but it is EXTREMELY important.**

**Just read.**

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><p><span>Chapter 19<span>

**Natsu's POV**

The fire dragonslayer had never been so nervous in his entire life. He stood in front of a mirror in one of the back rooms of the Fairy Tail guildhall. He had decided to come to the guild to ask for help getting ready from some of the other men. He had never really had much of a reason to get dressed up before so he didn't really know what to do. He wrinkled his nose at the smells of the cologne and hair gel he had been told to use. He didn't see the point of them really but the other's knew what they were doing.

"Well whaddaya know Salamander, you actually look half civilized," sneered Gajeel. He and some of the other men were going over Natsu one more time to make sure he was ready. He felt like this was something that girls were supposed to do, not guys, but they had insisted on making sure he was ready.

"Shut yer trap metal head," he snapped. He was on edge, it was only half an hour before he headed over to interrupt Lucy's date. He was feeling anxious too. It was eight o'clock... Lucy would be meeting Darius at the restaurant right now... He took a few deep breaths to keep himself calm. He couldn't go flying off in a rage.

"Cut the guy a break, he's got a big night tonight," said Gray, placing a hand on Natsu's shoulder. Gray in particular had been really helpful while Natsu was figuring out how to use the hair gel and putting on his tie.

"Thanks man... I really appreciate it," Natsu said quietly to Gray, not wanting the others to hear it. Gray grinned at him.

"No problem Natsu. I know how much Lucy means to you, and I want you two to be happy. Just promise you'll take care of her, she's been like a sister to me," he said. Natsu nodded.

"You know I will Gray. I love her..." he said.

"Here Natsu, give these to Lucy when you get there," said Alzac, handing him a bouquet of flowers. Natsu took them and gave them a skeptical look.

"Why am I giving her these?" he asked, the other men laughed. Elfman clapped him on the shoulder.

"A real man knows that ladies love flowers!" he said gruffly, giving the younger man a thumbs up. Natsu shrugged and didn't argue. Happy flew in through the open door.

"Wow Natsu you look fancy!" the little cat exclaimed, flying once around his best friend.

"Thanks Happy, I hope Lucy likes it..." said Natsu, beginning to feel even more nervous as he looked at the clock on the wall. 8:15, he should probably start heading over to the restaurant... "I should probably go," he said, looking around at the others.

"You've got this man, go get your girl," said Gray, slapping Natsu on the back.

"Go Natsu! Go snatch Lucy right outta that guy's arms!" exclaimed Happy excitedly.

"Just remember everything we taught you," said Freed, who had been leaning against the wall.

"Be a real man! Tell Lucy you love her!" yelled Elfman.

"I suppose I should wish you good luck Salamander," Gajeel said, also giving Natsu a slap on the back.

"Go get her Natsu," said Laxus, giving the younger man a grin.

"Thanks guys," said Natsu and headed out into the main hall. When he'd reached the middle of the hall, noise exploded all around him.

"GOOD LUCK NATSU!" shouted all the members of Fairy Tail. They were all laughing and cheering as he headed towards the door, his face in danger of catching on fire again. He paused at the very last table, where Master Makarov was sitting on the table, sipping his drink.

"Gramps...I... Thank you..." said Natsu, bowing low. Makarov chuckled and made shooing motions with his hands.

"You haven't got time to waste my boy, go get our Lucy back from that Blue Pegasus brat," he said. Natsu smiled and left the guild. With each step he took he found that his nervousness was fading away to be replaced by excitement. He knew that Igneel was with him, and that he'd get his mate.

Five minutes later, at exactly 8:30 he walked through the front doors of the restaurant that Lucy was having her date with Darius at. He could smell her scent faintly. He looked around at all the tables, searching for that beautiful blonde hair...

He couldn't see her.

He began to pace around, winding his way between the tables in case he had missed her. Still nothing. Natsu began to panic. He ran up to one of the waiters and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, have you seen a blonde girl and a guy with dark hair here?" he asked, dread filling his chest. The man thought before nodding.

"Yes I believe I saw them earlier, I'm afraid they left," he said and walked off.

Natsu's heart sank. They had already left... He... He had been too late.

Numbly he walked out of the front doors, dropping the flowers as he stepped outside. He began to run, not thinking of where he was going, just blindly running. Rain began to fall as he ran.

He suddenly realized he was back at the guildhall. He wrenched the doors open and stood in the doorway, drenched from the rain. Everyone looked at him in surprise.

"Natsu you're back already?" said Erza in surprise. "Lucy's with you right? Why don't you two come in you're getting soaked!"

"Lucy! We were all in on it! We helped Natsu to confess to you!" exclaimed Levy excitedly, running over to Natsu and looking over his shoulder for Lucy. She hesitated when she didn't see her blonde friend. "Natsu, where's Lucy?" she asked him. His head was hanging as he still stood in the doorway, holding the door open.

"Natsu, what's wrong?" said Gray, coming over as he sensed that something was amiss.

Suddenly Natsu screamed. He screamed a long, terrible scream of complete and utter anguish. He fell to his knees and slammed his fists into the ground, cracking the dense wood.

"I was too late!" he wailed, tears flooding from his eyes. "They had left by the time I got there! **Lucy**!" he screamed, flinging his head back and roaring in pain as his heart shattered into a thousand pieces.

"What?" exclaimed Levy, crouching next to Natsu and trying to calm him down. "Natsu you've got to talk to us. What exactly happened?" Natsu sobbed harder than ever as he relived that terrible moment.

No. He had to get away from these memories. He sprang to his feet and ran out of the guild, heedless to the shouts of his guildmates behind him.

He ran. Out of Magnolia. Into the East Forrest. He crashed through the brush, not caring that he was getting bruised and cut by the trees and rocks. He stumbled, falling to the ground.

Natsu lay there, crying and screaming in pain and misery. Lucy... _His_ Lucy... He had been too late... She had said she was giving up on him for good after her date... He would never have her now...

He got to his knees and roared at the sky, flames erupting around him and shooting from his mouth as the rage and anguish in his heart flooded out. He screamed his heartbreak to the sky over and over again.

Natsu screamed until he couldn't scream anymore. When his lungs gave out, he thrashed about, burning trees to cinders and pulverizing them to dust. His magic energy was boiling in his despair, lashing out of his body and scorching everything in sight.

After what seemed like an eternity he finally collapsed, too weak to move anymore. Tears continued to fall from his eyes and he lay in the pouring rain, his chest burning with a pain more intense than he had ever experienced.

He blacked out.


	24. Chapter 20

**Hello my lovely readers!**

**OH GOODNESS PLEASE FORGIVE ME I HAD TO! IT WAS ALL FOR THE SAKE OF THE FEELS! DON'T HATE ME!**

**I feel like the worst kind of person but I had tooooo! It was all for the sake of the plot! I had been planning this for DAYS... I promise everything gets better though! NaLu is my OTP I'd never leave things like that! **

**I'll keep the rambling to a minimum so you can see why I did what I did!**

**Please review this chapter! I'm desperate to find out what you think!**

**Love of extra love cause I was a jerk for scaring ya'll**

**Sabina**

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><p><span>Chapter 20<span>

_The Day After_

**Lucy's POV**

The celestial spirit mage had been a little disappointed when she hadn't been able to actually go on her date the night before... She had been waiting outside the restaurant when Darius had run up to her. He had commented on how nice she looked before apologizing profusely and saying that they would have to reschedule. Apparently there was an issue at Blue Pegasus and they needed him for the night. Lucy had been understanding, and they had decided to come back at the same time the next day.

It was about five o'clock in the afternoon now, and Lucy figured that it was time she started getting ready. She went over to her wardrobe and rifled through it, trying to decide what to wear. She had worn a short black dress the night before, but she couldn't wear that again cause she'd already been seen wearing it... Her eyes fell on the outfit that she had bought the other day. Well she had bought it for a reason...

She filled the bath and got cleaned up, making sure to use all of her favorite scented washes. She thought they smelled good so Darius probably would too... Natsu always liked how they smelled... _NO! Stop. You can't think like that after tonight anymore._ She finished her bath and dried herself off, before getting into her bathroom and going back out to her room. She grabbed her keys and selected two

"Open! Gates of the Virgin and Giant Crab! Virgo and Cancer!" she called, and the two Zodiac spirits appeared.

"How may we serve you Princess?" said Virgo, bowing to her. Lucy smiled at them warmly. They had been with her for a long time now and both of them were very dear to her heart.

"I have a date in two hours so I need to get ready," she said. Virgo gave her a sly look.

"Is your date with Natsu? Did you two finally become lovers?" she said, Lucy groaned.

"Not you too Virgo... No it isn't Natsu," she said her eyes becoming sad and downcast. "I'm giving up on him after this date..." She missed the look between Virgo and Cancer.

"My apologies Princess," said the maid spirit. She came over and settled Lucy into the seat in front of her vanity. "Lets get you looking beautiful for your date," she added.

"I'm going back for some of my special supplies baby," said Cancer, and Lucy nodded at him.

What she didn't know was that Cancer was going back for an entirely different reason... While Lucy had been lost in her thoughts Virgo had leaned closer to Cancer and whispered to him.

"Go tell Leo... Our Princess is about to make a huge mistake... She needs our help."

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><p><strong>Gray's POV<strong>

Everyone is the guild was feeling down... They all felt so sorry for poor Natsu. He loved Lucy with all his heart and he had missed his chance to tell her... Gray sighed and stared at his drink. Cana wasn't the only memeber of Fairy Tail day-drinking today. They pretty much all were. The guild was a gloomy place.

Suddenly the front doors of the guild burst open and someone shouted.

"Where's Natsu?!"

Everyone turned to see who it was, and gasped in surprise.

"Loke? What are you doing here?" Gray yelled in surprise. The celestial spirit ran over to Gray and grabbed him by the shoulders, his eyes burning fiercely.

"Where's Natsu? He has to hurry!" said the lion spirit. Gray gave him a bemused look.

"Dude what are you talking about, you've gotta tell us what's going on, calm down a little," he said sternly. Loke took a few deep breaths.

"Natsu, I've got to tell him. Lucy hasn't gone on her date yet, it got moved to today. He still has a chance!" said Loke. Gray gave him a look that was half surprise, half excitement.

"She hasn't gone yet? Natsu still has a chance?" he exclaimed, and he could feel the excitement in the guildhall beginning to mount.

"Yes, but we've gotta tell him soon, there's only an hour left before her date," said Loke, casting about for Natsu. "Where is he?" Everyone froze. They didn't know.

"Shit! He ran off last night and we couldn't find him in the rain!" Gray swore. The master's voice suddenly boomed throughout the hall.

"You heard Loke brats! We need to find Natsu NOW! Work together! We can't let our fellow guildmates down!" he said, from his position on the railing of the second floor. Everyone leapt to their feet and ran out the doors.

"Erza, Happy, Wendy, Carla, Gajeel, Lily! You guys come with me! I think I have an idea of where he went!" shouted Gray. Happy shouted 'Aye sir!' and picked him up by the back of his shirt, as Lily and Carla did the same to Gajeel and Wendy. Erza requipped into her Black Wing Armor and followed them.

"Gray!" called Loke, and Gray looked back down at him before they took off. "Call my name when you find Natsu, I'll come right to you through my Gate!" Gray gave Loke a thumbs up and the spirit vanished.

"Happy! Head to the East Forrest!" he called out. "Natsu always used to go there when upset as a kid!"

"Aye sir! You're right! MAX SPEED!" shouted Happy and they all sped off towards the forrest.

* * *

><p>They were there ten minutes later, spreading out over the vast sea of green, searching for Natsu.<p>

"I can smell burning coming from that direction!" shouted Wendy, pointing off towards the base of one a mountain in the middle of the forrest. Gajeel sniffed the air and nodded.

"I can smell Salamander over there," he said, his eyes narrowing. "His scent smells...sick..."

"We'd better hurry," said Erza, racing off in the direction that they had indicated. Within minutes they had reached a section of forrest that had been completely burned away to ashes.

"What... What happened...?" gasped Wendy, staring around at all the destruction. The circle of scorached earth had to be several miles wide...

"Natsu happened... He must have been in really rough shape," said Gray, solemnly. "I bet if we go to the center, we'll find him." They all nodded in agreement and headed for the center of the black circle. Sure enough, they found Natsu there, lying facedown on the still hot ground. Gajeel whistled as his feet touched the ground.

"Remind me never to lay a finger on bunny girl ever again," he said quietly, eying the other dragonslayer apprehensively. Wendy rushed to Natsu's side and began healing him. He looked to be in bad shape...

Natsu was covered in dirt and blood. Deep lacerations covered his skin and dark bruises were forming underneath the broken skin on his knuckles. His clothes were torn and blackened...

"He must have gone berzerk..." whispered Erza, and Gray was shocked to see a slightly frightened look on her face. Gray had to admit he was frightened too. This level of destruction was beyond what any of them were capable of... He bet that even Gildarts would have difficulty matching this...

There was a groan from Natsu, and he opened his swollen, red eyes...

"No... Let me go back to sleep... I don't want to be awake, it hurts too much," he croaked. Tears were beginning to cut through the soot covering his face. It broke all their hearts to see the normally cheerful fire dragonslayer in such misery.

"No Salamander, you have to get up now!" growled Gajeel, grabbing Natsu's collar and hauling him up. The pink haired man was too weak to put up a fight.

"I don't want to get up!" he cried, struggling weakly against Gajeel's iron grip. "Lucy's lost to me forever! She'll never take me now!" Erza came over and slapped him across the face, stunning him into silence. Gray shied away from her nervously. Her expression was terrifying.

"Natsu Dragneel you are a Fairy Tail mage! You DARE give up? The Natsu I know would never let Lucy be taken away from him!" she scolded. Natsu stared at her blankly. Gray hated that expression. Natsu looked broken, weak. Natsu wasn't weak. This Natsu pissed him off royally.

"Listen here," Gray growled, marching over and grabbing Natsu from Gajeel. He held his friend's collar tightly, his arm shaking in his anger. "We aren't letting you give up... LOKE!" he shouted. A golden light announced the appearance of the Leader of the Zodiac. He looked worried, they were running out of time.

"Natsu! It's not too late! Lucy, her date was moved to today! She's about to go on in in five minutes! You've got to hurry!" he said, his face determined. Natsu looked shocked.

"She...hasn't...gone yet...?" he whispered. Loke nodded, pointing back towards Magnolia.

"That's right. You still have a chance. You've gotta go get her. I don't like that Darius guy, he'll just use her then leave her... As much as I'd love to keep Lucy all to myself," he said, his face looking a little pained before he seemed to strengthen his resolve. "You're the one she needs. Natsu, you're the only one who can give Lucy everything she's ever wanted. As her faithful spirit I have to help her find happiness, and the one thing that will give her all the happiness in the world is you!" Natsu was in a stunned silence.

"But...what if I'm too late ag-..." Natsu said before he paused, correcting himself. He hadn't been late. "What if I'm too late?"

Now Gray was REALLY angry. His hands shook violently as he punched the dragonslayer in the jaw. Natsu fell to the ground, holding his cheek. He stared up at Gray, shock filling his tired face.

"Cut the shit Natsu! Who gives a shit if you're late? If they've already left you use your damn nose and hunt them down! You rip her from that scumbag's arms and burn him to cinders! I swear to god if you give up on this I will personally end you," Gray snarled, his anger overflowing. He wasn't going to let his two best friends die slowly of misery. "You get your ass up off the ground. You start running. You run, and you don't stop until you find her. You get down on your knees and beg her for forgiveness. You beg her to forgive you for taking so damn long to get your fucking act together. You tell her that you can't live without her. You tell her how much you love her. You tell her that whenever you go a day without her, you feel like something important is missing." An image of Juvia flashed through his head, and he felt his anger surge even more. "You're one of Fairy Tail's strongest mages Natsu, and I will personally ensure that you get kicked out of the guild if you don't go get our, Fairy Tail's, Lucy back from that Blue Pegasus trash."

Everyone was starting at Gray in absolute shock. Wendy had her hands over her mouth with tears running in her eyes, and Gajeel and Erza were speechless. Loke looked like he'd been hit by a train. Natsu was wide eyed and open mouthed, sitting motionless on the ground. Gray snarled and yanked him to his feet.

"Did I fucking stutter flame-brain? You're the son of a fucking dragon, you can handle anything! Get your ass moving!" he yelled in Natsu's face.

* * *

><p><strong>Natsu's POV<strong>

_"You're the son of a fucking dragon!"_

Dragon... Igneel...

Suddenly Natsu's mind was flooded with images. Images from his dreams. His dreams...with Lucy...

He remembered everything. All that they had said to each other. The whispered words of love. The heated sounds of their lovemaking. It all came rushing back in a torrent. One clear memory of Lucy rang out in his mind in her beautiful voice.

_"When it ends, concentrate as hard as you can on remembering that I really do love you. Concentrate on working as hard as you can on your training! You've got to get through to me in the real world. The conscious me is convinced that the conscious you will never love her. You have to work hard and get me to believe the truth! Promise me!"_

He had made a promise to Lucy...

Natsu shakily stood up, his wounds only half healed. He had to get to her. His Lucy. He loved her and she loved him. He had to. Nothing else in the world mattered. He took a step forward. Then another. And another. He steps got faster and faster until he was running. Running as hard as he could despite his body's utter exhaustion. His mind was blank except for one thing as he ran faster than he ever had towards Magnolia.

Lucy.

* * *

><p><strong>Happy's POV<strong>

"Wait Natsu! Let me carry you!" he called after his friend. Natsu didn't stop, he just kept running. Happy made to fly after him but Gray caught him and held onto him.

"No Happy... Let him go," he said quietly. Happy tried to argue but a chuckled from Gajeel made him hesitate.

"Ice princess is right cat. This is something he has to do on his own. A dragon has to fight for his mate, and he has to do it alone," said the iron dragonslayer. Tears formed in Happy's eyes as he struggled to keep from flying off and helping his best friend. He felt Gajeel's large hand on his head as the man ruffled his ears. "He'll be fine..."

"Gajeel is right, let Natsu do this on his own," said Lily. Wendy sniffled and nodded as well.

"I swear this guild is so much trouble," sighed Carla. She gave Gray a dark look. "You had best apologize for using such coarse language in front of Wendy!" she scolded. They were all silent for a minute. Then they all burst out laughing. Loke wiped a tear from his eye as he managed to calm down.

"I had better go. In the likely event that Natsu gets into a fight with this guy, Lucy might need my help to break them up," he said. Gray fist-bumped him.

"Thanks for your help man," he said to his old friend. Loke smiled sadly.

"Anything for Lucy," he said quietly as he disappeared. Erza stepped forward.

"We had better get back to Magnolia. Loke was right, we don't know what will happen when Natsu gets there," she said, a smile on her face despite the potential chaos that would be ensuing.

They took off after him.

* * *

><p><strong>Lucy's POV<strong>

"Well that dinner was just lovely," said Darius as they walked out of the restaurant, his arm around her shoulders. Lucy had to admit that that he was right. The food had been delicious and she had had a pretty good time. Darius had spent a lot of the time talking about his success in Blue Pegasus and how he was in the middle of coming up with new designs for a clothing line, and she had been a little disappointed that he hadn't asked her more about herself, but the date had been good otherwise.

They talked a little as he walked her home, he asking about certain parts of Magnolia he was unfamiliar with and she telling him about them. Soon they had reached her front porch. She didn't open the door yet, a little unsure of what was going to happen next. Darius had been giving her lustful looks throughout their entire date and she wasn't sure if she wanted to get into that so soon. He brushed a strand of her hair out of her face.

"You really do look lovely tonight," he said his eyes traveling down her body, taking her in. She smiled a little nervously.

"Thank you..." she said. He took her chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilted her head up. She could feel her heart beating fast as his lips descended towards hers... She found herself thinking of Natsu... _I'm sorry Natsu...I can't wait any longer..._ Her eyes drifted closed as they got closer and closer...

"**LUCY**!"

Her eyes flew open and she stepped back from Darius in surprise, turning to look at the figure standing at the foot of the stairs up to her front door.

Natsu. Natsu was glaring up at Darius, his breath coming in ragged gasps. She gasped when she saw the state he was in. He was dressed in a black pair of dress pants and a flame red shirt, both ripped and scorched as if he had been in a fight. The fire dragonslayer was covered in cuts and bruises, his body covered in dirt and soot. He looked like he was about to collapse... But his eyes burned brightly, full of a fierce rage.

"Natsu! What are you doing here? What happened to you?" she exclaimed in confusion, taking a step towards him but stopping when she heard a low growl in his throat. Darius had placed his hand on her shoulder and was giving Natsu a scornful look.

"So this is your teammate... He looks like he's been beaten half to death," he sneered. Lucy gave him a scathing look. Darius moved his hand to her waste and pulled her against him. "I'm sorry buddy but Lucy and I were about to go upstairs and...discuss a few things about our future together..." he said, causing Lucy to give him an incredulous look. _Somebody is jumping to conclusions..._

"I don't think so..." said Natsu, his voice low and dangerous. "And I suggest you take your hands off of Lucy..."

Darius laughed and gave her rear a squeeze, making her yelp in surprise. Natsu's already dangerous expression darkened, and waves of heat began rolling from his body.

"Why should I? Lucy is my date, I can touch her if I want to," laughed Darius. Lucy pulled herself out of his arms and glared at him.

"Excuse me, I didn't give you my permission to touch me," she said in annoyance. Darius gave her a condescending glance and waved his hand dismissively.

"Lucy babe, this a conversation between men. You just stand there looking pretty," he said and she gave him a disgusted look. He turned his attention back to Natsu, who had faint flames flickering along the edges of his clenched fists. "I don't know what you're after buddy but you'd better beat it. It's rude to interrupt people in the middle of a date," he said as he walked down to the step just above Natsu sneering at him. Natsu growled dangerously. "Is that supposed to scare me?" laughed Darius. "What are you, and animal? You look like you're about to keel over and you're acting like you wanna fight me?"

"Oh I ain't acting... I'm itching to kick your ass..." snarled Natsu, ripping the sleeves from his already ruined shirt and ripping open the buttons. He kicked off his ruined shoes and stood barefoot, crouching into a fighting stance. "Lucy is mine... You can't have her..." he growled. Lucy stared at him in shock. What did he just say...?

"Oh this is just too good. You wanna fight me for her? This is a challenge I just can't turn down," Darius laughed and stepped out to the middle of the street, rolling up his sleeves. He took a fighting stance and gave a 'bring it on' gesture to Natsu.

"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" The fire dragonslayer roared and launched himself at Darius, his fist covered in flames. Darius side stepped and sent a jet of water at Natsu. It slammed into him and sent him hurtling down the street.

"I've heard of you Salamander! The fire dragonslayer huh? Too bad for you... I'm a water magic user. I can douse your flames easily!" laughed Darius, a cruel smile on his face. Natsu got to his feet and snarled at him angrily. He ran at the Pegasus mage again, leaping into the air and bringing his right leg down as it burst into flames.

"Fire Dragon Talon!" he roared. A torrent of water rushed up from the canal to meet him and it enveloped him before slamming him brutally to the cobblestones. He got up again and took a deep breath.

"Fire Dragon Roar!" Flames poured from his mouth and hurtled towards the other mage. Darius waved his hand and a wall of water rose between him and the flames, which went out with a hiss and a jet of steam. He wave a hand again and another blast of water came down on Natsu's head, knocking him to the ground again. Lucy gasped and covered her mouth as Darius laughed. Natsu was already hurt... This wasn't a fair fight... Lucy ran down the stair and grabbed Darius' arm.

"Stop it Darius! Natsu is already exhausted! This isn't fair!" she shouted. Darius gave her a scornful look and pushed her away roughly. Lucy landed painfully on the ground and cried out in pain.

"I told you to stay out of this Lucy. This is between men, and you're just the prize," he said. Tears formed in Lucy's eyes at his words and she sobbed. How had she been so blind to this? There was a sudden rush of intense heat. Lucy looked over to where Natsu had fallen. She gasped.

Natsu was wreathed in flames... The poured off of his body in flashing tendrils, scorching the ground around him. His eyes were blazing a deep red and scales had appeared across his face and body. Horns of flame had formed at his temples and his nails looked more like claws now... He looked terrifying... His face was full of a ferocious rage and a low rumbling was issuing from his throat.

"That...was the biggest mistake you'll ever make...you'll ever regret making...in your miserable...**short**...life..." Natsu said quietly. His voice was calm but it held a malice that she'd never heard in it before. Lucy shivered.

Darius was looking a little nervous. Natsu looked monstrous, like a dragon taken human form. The Blue Pegasus mage gritted his teeth and seemed to shake himself out of his terror.

"Look as scary as you want, your fire is still no match for my water!" he yelled and threw his arms up in the air. A huge column of water shot up from the canal, nearly draining it and formed a huge sphere in the air above Darius. He grinned triumphantly and began moving his arms around, causing the water to spin at a tremendous rate. "My water cyclone will blow you away!" he yelled, launching the now furiously spinning mass at Natsu.

"Natsu dodge it!" screamed Lucy, she could see sharp blades of water in the whirling mass. She knew if those hit him he'd be sliced to ribbons. Natsu stood his ground, the flames surrounding him boiling up into a raging inferno. He crouched, his hands collecting the flames and compressing them.

"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art," he growled the flames between his hands swirling madly. "Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!" Natsu roared as he sent the spell hurtling towards Darius. The water cyclone evaporated instantly and the other mage didn't have time to block. The flames slammed into him and sent him flying down the street, battering him over and over. Darius slammed to the ground and didn't get up, crying out in agony from the burns that now covered his body. Natsu slowly began walking down the street towards him, the cobblestones beneath his feet melting and bubbling as he went. His eyes were filled with a murderous intent.

_No_... _Natsu_... _You_ _can't_... _This_ _isn't_ _right_... _You're_ _not_ _a_ _killer_...

Tears ran down Lucy's face as she ran after him. She didn't pay any heed to the flames around her and she grabbed onto Natsu from behind, burying her face in his back. She braced herself for the pain, but it never came. She opened her eyes a crack to see the swirling flames dancing around her. But they weren't hurting her. Natsu was looking at her over his shoulder, his eyes fixed on her tear-stained face.

"Natsu... Please stop... You're not a killer... You won... Just let it go..." she sobbed. Slowly the flames began to die down and the scales faded from Natsu's face. His breathing became ragged and his legs gave way, and she cried out as he fell to the ground. "Natsu!" Tears fell from her eyes onto his face as she laid his head in her lap and looked at him fearfully. He was so weak... His magic had almost been completely depleted... She flinched when she heard harsh laughter.

Darius had gotten unsteadily to his feet and was limping slowly towards them. His hair was singed and his clothes were torn and burned, but he had an evil look on his face.

"You think you're good enough for her just because you beat me in a fight? That's a laugh. You're a monster, what could you ever do for her? How would a monster like you know how to treat a woman?" he sneered, as Natsu struggled to get to his feet.

"Natsu don't! You're too hurt!" sobbed Lucy, trying to keep him from getting up. Natsu gently brushed her hands away and got slowly to his feet, his head hanging low.

"You... You know nothing about Lucy... You weren't there... When she was all alone. When she had nowhere to go. When she came to Fairy Tail. When we beat Lullaby. When we saved Galuna Island. When she suffered at the hands of Phantom Lord... Fought in the Tower of Heaven, in the Battle of Fairy Tail, against Oracion Seis, in Edolas, against Grimoire Heart on Tenrou Island... When she came home and found our her only living relative was gone... When she cried for him... When she was kidnapped and forced to merge with the Infinity Clock... When we fought tooth and nail to claw our way back to the number one guild in Fiore... You didn't watch her as she grew into the amazing mage she is today. You didn't comfort her when she was sad or felt alone. You didn't save her when she needed saving. You weren't with her all the times she cried, fought, and bled for Fairy Tail! You know nothing about her! You know nothing about her beauty, her sweetness, her compassion, her fears, her doubts, her dreams! **You'll never love Lucy Heartfilia the way that I do!**" Natsu finished on a roar, launching himself forward and slamming his fist into Darius' face, sending him flying.

Lucy stared at Natsu in utter disbelief, the tears flowing from her eyes faster than ever.

_He...loves...me?_

Natsu was completely exhausted. He fell his hands and knees, panting and shaking. He heard Lucy cry out and her warm scent enveloped him as she rushed to his side.

"Natsu! Are you ok?" she cried. She had to get Wendy... She looked up when she heard the sound of running feet behind them. She turned and gawked at the sight. It looked like the entire guild was running up to them; Erza, Gray, Juvia, Wendy, Gajeel, and Levy out in the front.

"Lucy! Let me see him!" said Wendy hurriedly, placing her palms above him and beginning to heal him. Lucy stared around at all the members of her guild as they approached.

"Master! What's going on?" she exclaimed when she saw his diminutive form. He chuckled and shook his head.

"I think it's best if Natsu explains that to you once he's recovered enough," the old man said, smiling at her warmly. Everyone was smiling at her and many were cheering.

"I... I don't understand..." she said, utterly confused. She groaned loudly when the harsh laughter came again. Somehow Darius had gotten back to his feet and was standing a few yards ahead of them, wobbling dangerously.

"I... Won't... Be... Beaten..." he said dazedly, a small orb of water over his hand. Lucy saw Gray roll his eyes.

"Jeez this guy just won't stay down," he said. Darius weakly threw the ball at Natsu, a crazed look in his eyes. The ball stopped mid-air, having only made it a few feet. Juvia stood with her arm outstretched and an exasperated look on her face. Darius blinked dumbly at her.

"You're a water mage too... That's hot..." he slurred, clearly concussed by Natsu's punch. He was instantly encased in a solid block of ice. Lucy looked in surprise at Gray, who had an angry scowl on his face.

"Scumbag," she heard him mutter before he turned back to them. "We should get Natsu inside once Wendy's done. He really needs to talk to you," said Gray, grinning at her. She nodded, not having the mental strength to argue after all that had happened. After a minute more Wendy wiped her forehead and smiled.

"He's going to be fine, just a little weak for a few days," she said, and Lucy sobbed in relief. She got up and unlocked the door to her apartment, holding the door as Gajeel and Gray supported Natsu, taking him upstairs and laying him down on her bed. She went back out to wave goodbye to everyone as they dispersed and headed off to the guild or their homes. Elfman carried the block of ice containing Darius as he followed the master; they were going to Blue Pegasus to have a word with Master Bob about this mess. Levy winked at her as she waved, and Lucy wondered what that was all about.

She sighed and headed back upstairs, feeling exhausted after that whole ordeal. She headed into her room and shut the door. She hesitated before turning around to see Natsu sitting upright on the edge of her bed. His head in his hands. Slowly she made her way over to him, halting in front of him and getting down on her knees to look up into his face.

"Natsu?"

He lifted his head slowly. He looked so tired... His eyes were dull and he still had faint bruises and cuts on his skin. It broke her heart to see him looking so frail. She tentatively placed her hand on his knee. He shivered slightly at the touch.

"Gray... He said you had something that you needed to tell me..." she said slowly. Natsu just nodded and didn't say anything yet. She hesitated and went on. "And... I wanted to ask... What you said outside... Did you..." She was cut off as Natsu suddenly got up from the bed. He picked her up and set her down where he had been sitting. She was utterly confused as he took her previously occupied place on the floor, kneeling on both on his knees with his head hanging.

"Lucy..."

* * *

><p><strong>Natsu's POV<strong>

His heart was pounding so hard he thought it would leap right out of his body. He felt himself shaking uncontrollably as he kneeled in front of her. This was it. All his hard work had led up this moment. He couldn't back down now...

"Lucy..." he began, and hesitated. He could remember all the romantic things that the others had told him to say, but right then they didn't seem right... They seemed...too fake... He stayed silent for a long time before Gray's words slowly began to come back to him. He took a deep breath, then began again...

"Lucy... I've been the world's biggest idiot... All these years... I never... I never realized how I felt about you... I never understood how I felt... I can never apologize enough for taking this long... I made you sad... Levy told me how long you've waited... I... I want to kick myself for making you hurt like that... I didn't know how I felt... I'm not good with emotions... But I learned how to understand them... And now... I can tell you... I love you Lucy... God I love you so much... You're everything to me... I can't live without you..." he paused to breathe again, not yet looking up at her face. "You're so beautiful... More beautiful than anything I've ever seen in my entire life. I see you and my heart can't stop pounding. You're brave, so incredibly brave and strong. You'd die to protect the guild and you've almost died to protect me... You're the most compassionate woman I've ever known and I don't know what I did to deserve being able to know you... I love you so much... I've always loved you... I can't live without you Lucy..." Tears were falling from his eyes when he finished. He didn't look up immediately, he was too afraid.

A sniffling sound made him look up at her. Tears were falling in shining droplets from Lucy's eyes as she stared at him, her hand over her mouth. Natsu panicked; had he said something wrong? Was she mad at him?

His fears melted away when she flung her arms around around him and crashed her lips into his.


	25. News Update 5

**Okay guys don't get tooooooo excited... I WILL be posting at least two more chapters for this fic so don't worry! I'm just going to use this as my rambling space since I kinda left it mostly out of the past two chapters to keep ya'll from getting distracted from the story...**

**OH MY GOODNESS I HAD SO MUCH FUN WRITING THAT LAST CHAPTER... UGHHHHHHHHHH...**

**I seriously thought my heart was gonna melt at my own freaking work while I was writing it. I was listening to the FT soundtrack and openings on repeat the whole time I was writing and honestly I think it actually helps. It help me to get into the zone and to really remember what the characters are like. I'm so proud of this fic you have no idea. It is my baby.**

**Speaking of fics! Since I'm going to be wrapping this one up soon I'm going to be focusing more on my second work, **Trial Testing! Grand Magic Games X795!**! I'm struggling a bit more with this one... The perspective is doing a lot of jumping around and I'm having a hard time trying not to focus on just one pairing... But! I'm getting a little better at it and I'm really looking forward to develop the various pairing throughout... Not to give anything away but I had a genius idea to make Elfman get jealous of a member of another guild who starts flirting with Evergreen... I'm so horrible sometimes... But please, it would mean a lot to me if you guys would check it out and let me know what you think. :) I'm really proud of the OC character I came up with and I'm really excited to write more about her.**

**Also to do with other fics... I wanna know which pairing you guys would like to see if the first sequel to Understanding My Heart! Here are the different pairings that I want to do in the sequels...**

**Jerza**

**GaLe**

**Gruvia**

**So let me know (in a review or even a PM) which one you guys would like to see in the first sequel! I'm so excited to get to work on them... My unhealthy obsession with FT has been fueling my drive to write and I have basically rewatched all the episodes since I started writing these... I have to say I'm actually kinda excited about the upcoming episodes even if they're filler cause Sting and Rogue are in the opening credits, and I'm hoping that means that they'll be in more episodes. I wanna see more of them.**

**Annnddd I planned out who to cosplay as at the anime convention held every year in my hometown... I'm going as Lucy (cause of the freaky resemblance I bear to her according to my friends) and as a female Sting (cause he's hawt and I lurves him), and possibly a female Naruto or Minato...not sure yet...**

**Okay I'll stop my dumb rambling now! I'm going to try to post another chapter tonight after working on one for my other fic!**

**Much love to all of you who have followed this since the beginning and just as much to those who recently started! Your praise has made me so happy and I'm so glad I started writing these!**

**Sabina**


	26. Chapter 21

**Hello my lovelies!**

**Okay first of all... OH MY GOODNESS... Fairy Tail Chapter 418... *fangirl scream* Oh my god... I don't have the words... Natsu looks like sex incarnate now... Hot damn... He... He melted everything... I can't wait for next week's chapter... I'm in need of some serious NaLu... Poor Lucy needs it too... All of the feels from that chapter... My obsession wih Fairy Tail is so much worse now... I love it so much. It is my favorite anime/manga of all time now. Nothing compares to it...**

**Okay lemme calm down a bit...**

**Phew... Wow... Alright! So here's the lemon ya'll have been waiting for! IT'S THE REAL DEAL YA'LL! I'M SO HAPPY I GOT TO WRITE THIS!**

**I decided to keep it mostly from Natsu's POV cause I think that between the two of them, this is just a bit more of a big deal for him since he worked so hard to get to this moment... And I just didn't want to keep jumping back and forth between their two points of view cause I felt like it would distract from the importance of this moment...**

**I'll shut up now and let you guys read what you've been waiting so long for!**

**Leave a review! I'm still taking votes for what the first sequel will be! (Jerza, Gruvia, GaLe) Also check out my other fic!**

**Much love to you all**

**Sabina**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 21<span>

**Lucy's POV**

Tears of joy flowed down Lucy's face as she listened to Natsu's confession. She had been ready to give up on him...and now here he was...telling he that he loved her...that he'd always loved her... Her hands covered her mouth as she struggled to contain her sobs. With every word he spoke her heart clenched tighter and tighter, as she desperately held herself back from throwing herself into his arms. When he had finished speaking he went quiet, and she could see tears falling on the backs of his hands as they rested clenched on his knees. He was trembling, she was sure out of fear of rejection from her... She couldn't hold back the little sniffle as her hands lowered ever so slightly.

Natsu looked up at her, his expression fearful. She looked at his dirty, tired, tear-stained face and it felt like her heart burst. She flung herself down at him and crushed her lips desperately against his. Memories were flooding through her mind as she kissed him; memories of their dreams together... They all came flooding back and she clutched him as tightly as she could...never wanting to let go...

They broke for air, both panting heavily as they stared into each others eyes. Lucy's heart swelled as she saw the pure joy in Natsu's tear-filled eyes. She had never seen him cry like this... His shaking hands came up to cup her face and he pressed his forehead against hers as he cried uncontrollably, sobbing the words "I love you" over and over until his voice was hoarse. Lucy too had tears in her eyes as she held the man that she loved more than anything.

"Natsu... I love you... I love you so much..." she cried and clung to his chest, not caring that he was covered in filth. He wrapped his arms around her and he slowly began to calm down, breathing in her scent. She took a deep breath and managed to sit back upright, wiping her eyes. "Oh Natsu... I'm sorry... I never should have doubted you..." she whispered, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his lips. He returned the kiss eagerly, almost desperately, as if he'd die if he didn't. They broke apart again and he stroked her face gently with the back of his bloody hand.

"Oh Luce... Don't apologize... It was all me... But that's all over now... I love you so much..." he said. He suddenly noticed that he was getting mud and blood all over her. "Crap... Lucy I'm getting blood all over you... I'd better clean up..." he said, surprising her with his concern over the state of her clothes and house. He struggled to his feet and slowly headed for the bathroom, wincing as some muscle or injury pained him. She giggled at the look of surprise on his face when he turned around to find her closing the bathroom door behind her after she followed him.

"You're exhausted... Let me help you," she said, smiling at him warmly. He blushed a little but nodded. He slowly stripped out of his ruined clothes as she filled the bath. Out of the corner of her eye she saw just he beat up he was... There was hardly an undamaged patch of skin on his body and only the parts that had been covered by his clothes were mostly untouched by grime. Even as she took in his sorry state she felt her body respond to the sight of him... Her eyes hungrily moved over his toned skin and hard muscle...lingering on his length, which was semi-erect as he stood there, watching her fill the bath.

"Lucy?" he said questioningly as she absentmindedly ran her hand through the hot water. She was yanked out of her reverie as she realized that the tub was almost full. She hurriedly shut off the water and hoped that he hadn't caught her staring. She moved out of the way as he stepped over the edge into the tub, sighing as the warm water enveloped him. Lucy hurriedly shed her clothing as well and waited by the side of the tub for him to fully settle into the bath. His eyes were closed and he apparently hadn't noticed her moving.

"Natsu..." she whispered quietly, shyly covering herself as she waited for his attention. He opened his eyes slowly and turned them on her. He inhaled sharply when he saw that she was naked.

"Luce... What are you..." he began but she pressed a finger to his lips. She smiled and motioned for him to make room for her. The fire dragonslayer blushed, but moved back in the tub so that she'd have room between his legs. She gingerly stepped into the hot water, nervousness making her hands shake a little. She settled herself between his legs before carefully turning around to face him. His eyes were wide and hazy with a combination of curiosity and lust, and his lips were slightly parted as he waited for her to do whatever she was going to do. She smiled gently at him and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips.

"Let me help you get cleaned up," she said softly. The slayer nodded and she went to work, gently scrubbing the caked mud and blood off of him. The bath got dirty very quickly. Noticing this, Natsu rose and drained the water, turning on the shower head instead. The warm water pelted them both as Lucy continued to clean away the dirt and blood. She was intensely aware of his gaze on her as she worked... Even as she cleaned away the blood from the various scratches on his back she felt him looking over his shoulder at her... She hesitated before she began on his front. In her dreams Lucy had been confident and eager to touch him...and while she was no less eager now, she was a little nervous when it came to touching him for real...

Hesitantly she reached out, one hand holding the soap-covered sponge and the other empty. Her fingers gently brushed across his chest and she heard him inhale slightly at the touch.

* * *

><p><strong>Natsu's POV<strong>

He inhaled sharply as her fingers brushed against his chest. Her touches had been so gentle along his back that he had barely felt them, just a soothing pressure running along his back and washing the grime away. Now she was becoming a little bolder, and her touch on his chest was more confident than before. He didn't take his eyes off her as she slowly began to clean away the filth on his chest, taking care not to open any cuts she found further. He sighed as her free hand wiped away the soap and dirt...

"Lucy..." he murmured, as she finished getting him cleaned up. She looked up at him shyly, trying to cover herself as they stood naked in the shower. He caught her wrists in his hands and he shook his head, lowering them to her sides. "No... Let me see you..." he said quietly, almost in a whisper. Her breathing quickened as he looked her up and down, taking everything in. She was so beautiful...

Lucy shivered as the water began to get colder. Seeing this, Natsu shut off the spray and grabbed two towels from the rack beside the shower, making sure to grab an older one for himself in case any of his injuries were still bleeding. He followed Lucy into the bedroom once they'd dried and wrapped the towels around themselves, his heart beating rapidly. It was dark outside, the only light coming from the pale moon as it rose over Magnolia. Natsu watched as she turned slowly towards him... She moonlight made her look truly angelic... Her skin glowed softly and her hair shone in the pale radiance of the moon...

"Beautiful..." he murmured as he took a hesitant step forwards. He took another step when she didn't move. Then another. After a few moments he was directly in front of her, looking down into her upturned face as she gazed up at could see the lust in her eyes, and knew that she could see the same in his. He slowly leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips... She responded almost instantly by wrapping her arms around his bare neck... (He had left Igneel's scarf at home the previous day because Mira and Lisanna had insisted that it wasn't romantic at all) She tasted ever sweeter than she had in his dreams... He groaned into the kiss and pulled her flush against his body. She whimpered and clung to him ever more tightly, her nails digging into his back.

Gently Natsu picked her up and set her down on the bed. He straightened up and just looked at her as the moonlight fell on her... She was heartbreakingly beautiful in that moment... Every detail of that one perfect moment was etched into his memory until the day he died...

"Natsu..." said Lucy quietly, holding out her arms to him. He sank slowly into her embrace, wrapping his arms around her as he climbed on top of her. His knee gently nudged her legs apart and he kissed her passionately, trying to put all the love he felt for her into that kiss. She moaned and kissed him just as hard, sending him whirling into a world of love and lust. Natsu pulled back from the kiss and stared at her beautiful face for a few moments before slowly feathering soft kisses along her cheek and down her neck. Lucy moaned softly as Natsu's kisses became more heated, each one a gentle suck on her skin. When he reached her collarbone he bit down gently, earning a gasp from her that turned into a moan as he brushed his tongue soothingly over the spot.

"Lucy..." he murmured as his hand slowly slid down her arm and down to her breast. She whimpered and pressed herself into his hand, and he squeezed the soft mound. She gasped again when he gently rolled her pert nipple between his thumb and forefinger. He continued to assault her neck with gentle bites and kisses, making her pant and squirm between the combination of his hand and mouth. His mouth began to drift lower, down her chest to the tops of her breasts, where he sucked greedily on the pale skin, leaving dark red marks. He nuzzled one of her breasts gently, enjoying the warm feeling of her skin against his cheek. His gaze rose to meet hers and he saw that she was looking down at him with a dazed expression, her cheeks flushed. He smiled softly and flicked his tongue out across one rosy nipple, not taking his eyes from her face.

He loved the expression she made. Her eyes squeezed closed and her lips parted as she gasped, biting her lower lip gently. His manhood throbbed when she bit her lip... He wanted her so badly... He didn't want to wait anymore... He wanted to claim her as his... But he knew that he had to do this right... Right for her...

He flicked his tongue across her nipple again before gently enveloping the bud with his lips. He sucked greedily at her, spurred on by her moans and trembling. His hand came up to play with her other breast as his mouth worked on the first. She cried out as he gently bit down and squeezed both her nipples. He switched his hand and mouth, giving the other breast the same treatment, earning low moans from her. He continued to lave her pink bud with his tongue as his hand slowly stroked down her hip... Slowly making his way down to her center.

"Ah...Ahhhh!" she cried out as his finger brushed against her warmth. He groaned at the feel of her... The real thing was a million times better than his dreams. She was warm, and as he gently pushed his strong digit into her he felt her wetness. She cried out, almost a sob of joy, as he slowly pumped his finger in and out of her. He added another, eager to make her feel more and cause her to make the noises that he loved. She moaned loudly as he pushed his fingers in a little deeper, curling them to hit her sweet spot. "Natsu!" she cried, as his thumb gently brushed against her clit. A rumbling purr emanated from his chest as he crawled down her body to lay between her legs. He watched his fingers pumping in and out of her soaked core, entranced by the sight. It made his arousal spike impossibly higher, and as he inhaled the scent of her arousal he groaned and leaned forward to taste her.

If she had tasted amazing in his dreams, there were no words to describle how she tasted to him now. He greedily licked and sucked at her center, desperate for more of her sweetness. She bucked against his mouth and her moans filled the room as his tongue swirled over her clit, before pushing gently into her tight entrance. She wailed as his fingers replaced his tongue and he moved his attention to her swollen clit. He swept his tongue over the bundle of nerves over and over, making her cry out and tremble. She spasmed as his lips closed over the bud and he sucked gently at it, his fingers still pumping in and out of her.

"Ah! Natsu! I'm... Clo-Ah!... NATSU!" she screamed as she toppled over her peak and came. He greedily lapped up her juices as he held her to the mattress, trying to stretch out her orgasm as long as possible. She thrashed and moaned, her face a picture of loveliness as she rode out her release. He gave her entrance one long, slow lick before moving back up her body to gaze at her flushed face. She panted as she came back to herself, a thin sheen of sweat coating her body. He stroked a hand across her belly lightly as she opened her eyes and smiled weakly at him.

"Lucy... Are you sure you want this now?" he asked quietly, leaning down to press gentle kisses to the corner of her mouth. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she pressed her lips to his as she gently urged him on top of her again. They broke the kiss and she nodded at him, her eyes tender and still filled with lust.

"Yes... Natsu... Please..." she whispered, kissing him again. Natsu moaned into her mouth as she gently sucked on his tongue. Her hand glided down his trembling body until it reached his throbbing arousal. He groaned and dropped his head onto her shoulder as she gently stroked him.

"Lucy..." he rasped, fighting to keep himself from plunging into her roughly. He lifted his head and captured her lips in a rough kiss as he maneuvered himself to her entrance, stopping with just his tip pressed against her. He shook with the effort of holding himself back. This would be her first time... He had to be gentle with her. He would never...ever...hurt her... At an agonizingly slow pace that threatened to drive him insane, he pushed into her warmth. He groaned at the feeling... It was almost too much... She was so warm, so tight, so wet... He felt himself reach her barrier and paused, letting her get used to the feeling of him. Once she had adjusted to his length she nodded slightly. He sank to his elbows, his arms bracketing her face as he stared into those beautiful brown eyes... "I love you Lucy..." he whispered, before kissing her and thrusting forward quickly. She felt her wince as he broke her barrier, and he swept his tongue into her mouth to distract her as the pain faded away. She gradually relaxed, her hands coming up to tangle in his hair as he slanted his mouth across hers.

"Okay... I'm alright now," she said softly when the kiss finally broke. Natsu fought hard to keep himself under control as he slowly pulled back, almost all the way out of her, before sliding himself back into her. She gasped, not in pain but in pleasure as he filled her. He continued to gently thrust in and out of her, making them both pant and gasp. "Natsu... Faster..." she whimpered, her small hand gripping his hip and pulling him deeper into her. He shuddered and moaned, gradually increasing the pace of his thrusts. Lucy's eyes fluttered shut and her nails gently dragged down his back as he continued to speed up, his thrusts getting harder and harder. "Ahh... Natsu..." she moaned as he pulled up her leg and hooked it over his shoulder, allowing him to hit deeper inside her. He was shining with sweat, breathing hard as he pumped himself in and out of her. He had never imagined that it would feel this good... He was utterly lost in the feel of her around him, and all he thought of was sending them both over the edge of ecstasy.

"Lucy... Oh Lucy..." he moaned as he pushed himself deep inside her tight passage. She was whimpering loudly, her hands clutching the bedsheets and her chest heaving. "I'm getting close," he said hoarsely, feeling his body begin to shake and the base of his spine tingle.

"Me too!" she cried out as he struck a sweet spot. He felt her begin to clench around him as she teetered on the edge of her climax. His hand slid down the inside of her thigh to her clit, but he paused before he touched it.

"Lucy... Look at me!" he cried out, desperately fighting off his release. He had to see it again. Her face as he made her his... Her eyes shot open and his finger descended on her clit as he pumped into her even harder. He had only brushed the sensitive bundle of nerves once when she shattered underneath him, screaming his name as she climaxed. He roared her name, his face burried in her shoulder, as she spasmed around his length, sending him over the edge. He continued to thrust roughly as he emptied himself into her, wanting to keep both of them in this world of pleasure as long as he could. She wailed in pleasure as his teeth bit into the flesh at her neck, his long canines piercing her pale skin. There was only a faint taste of her blood as he pulled his teeth out of her skin, his tongue laving over the punctures, which closed almost instantly leaving two red marks.

They panted heavily as their orgasms died away slowly... Natsu shook as he held himself above her, sweat dripping from him as he felt the last of his energy drain away. He fell to the bed next to her, reaching out and pulling her tightly against his chest. She sighed contentedly and tucked her head under his chin, kissing his chest tenderly.

"I love you Natsu..." she said quietly, and he felt his heart swell. He kissed the top of her head, his hand gently stroking her back.

"I love you too Lucy... I love you so much... Forever..." he whispered back, giving her a gentle squeeze. He felt her stiffen before sitting up, bringing up her hand to stare at her guild mark. Natsu's eyes widened as he saw a faint golden glow coming from the center of the mark. He too started when he felt a warmth spreading on his own Fairy Tail mark.

"What... What's going on?" said Lucy, sounding a little afraid. The glow didn't hurt... In fact it was warm and soothing... But not knowing what it was made them nervous. Slowly the glow faded... But something remained in the center of each of their marks...

A tiny, red-gold dragon now rested at the center of Lucy's Fairy Tail mark... Natsu stared at it in wonder, almost forgetting that his too had now changed. He felt Lucy's hand touch his red guild mark and he looked down at his shoulder at it. He gasped when he saw a small golden key in the center of his. He and Lucy's eyes met, understanding flooding through them.

"It's...a Mark..." he said in amazement as he brushed a finger over the tiny dragon on the back of her hand. "I mark that says you're my mate..." He placed his hand over his own mark. "And that says I'm yours..." Tears filled Lucy's eyes as she looked at the back of her hand.

"It's beautiful..." she said, trying to hold back a happy sob. Natsu smiled and pulled her into his arms, completely at peace for what felt like the first time in his whole life.

"You're beautiful Luce..." he murmured, fighting a losing battle as he tried to remain awake. Lucy yawned as he pulled her down to the mattress and held her close. The claim had been made. They were bonded together forever now...

"I love you Natsu..." Lucy mumbled as her eyes closed and she fell asleep.

"I love you too Lucy..." Natsu whispered into her hair as he drifted off into a deep and peaceful sleep...


	27. Chapter 22

**Hello my lovelies! **

**This is the final chapter! Ahhh! **

**I can't believe how much support and praise I have gotten from this fanfic... It was my first one and I'm completely floored by how much you guys liked it! It makes me so happy to know that I brought you guys some enjoyment from my writing... *tear* I can't thank you guys enough for your support... Ya'll are the best readers in the world!**

**This a short little chapter... Just to wrap things up. I thought I'd keep it short and sweet. I am happy with it though, I think I ended it in a good place. **

**In other news... Since I have now finished UMH I will be getting to work on new projects! Yay! As I've said before I have already st****arted my second fic, but I am also going to begin work on the first sequel to UMH! Things are picking up at school so I won't be posting as regularly, but I'll try to post whenever I can!**

**And now, and announcement! I have decided what the pairing for the first sequel will be! *drumroll***

**Gajeel and Levy!**

**I have a super good idea for the plot and I'm really excited to get to work on it. I think it's going to be fun to write from Gajeel's POV since he's always so grumpy so I'm looking forward to it! **

**In regards to my second fic, I've been suffering from a little writer's block so its been difficult to write... But I'm going to power through it!**

**I'll quit my rambling and let you read this cute little ending!**

**Thank you once again for all your praise and support, you've made me so happy!**

**If there is anything else you guys would like to see from me please don't hesitate to make a suggestion!**

**Much love**

**Sabina**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 22<span>

**Lucy's POV**

Lucy gently stirred as the sun's warm light fell across her face. She was so very warm and comfortable in her bed... The celestial mage felt completely at peace as she lay there...

As she slowly struggled out of her deep sleep she became more aware of her surroundings. Her cheeks flushed when she noticed the arm wrapped tightly around her bare waist and the warm feeling of skin on her back. _Natsu_... A loving smile graced her lips as she felt him nuzzle her hair in his sleep, murmuring her name quietly. Lucy carefully brought her hand up to look at her guild mark, not wanting to wake the sleeping dragonslayer. Her heart swelled happily as she looked at the little golden dragon in the center of her pink Fairy Tail mark. She and Natsu were mated now...

"Cute little guy isn't he?" rumbled Natsu, making her start a little. Apparently her movements had woken him up after all.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" she asked, giggling a little as he squeezed her tighter to his chest. She reddened as his hand brushed gently across her stomach and he pressed a kiss to her shoulder.

"No... I was awake a while ago... I just wanted to stay like this for a while," he purred, nuzzling her again. "You're adorable when you're asleep..." Lucy blushed again and squeaked when he turned her around to face him. Her embarrassment vanished when he pressed his lips to hers in a warm good morning kiss. The world melted around her and the focused solely on him as they kissed for a short while. When they broke apart she smiled at him.

"Natsu..." she whispered, stroking her thumb across his cheek. A rumbling purr emanated from his chest and his eyes closed at her touch, making her giggle again. "I love you..." The fire dragonslayer rubbed his nose against hers before kissing the tip of it.

"I love you too Luce... So, should we get up and go to the guild? I'm sure everyone is dying to know what happened after they left..." he said. Lucy flushed at the memory and groaned. She had no doubt that they'd be pestered endlessly... The other women in the guild would be a particular nightmare... They'd probably whisk her away to get all the dirty details the moment they walked through the doors...

"I suppose it'd be better to get it over with quickly..." she sighed, wriggling out of his arms causing him to grumble in disappointment. She giggled as he pouted up at her. "You're the one who suggested us going to the guild," she teased, winking at him. His eyes darkened and a wicked smile split his lips as he snagged her wrist and tugged her back down to the bed. Lucy blushed and her heart pounded when his lips brushed against her neck...

"I meant in like an hour or so... Maybe two..." her mate growled, making her heart flutter...

* * *

><p><strong>Natsu's POV<strong>

They did eventually leave Lucy's apartment. After about three hours. Now that he had her, Natsu was intent on making up for lost time... After the third round she had finally managed to pull her clothes on before he could get at her again, and had refrained from ripping them off of her when she threatened to cut him off completely. He grinned as images of that morning flashed through his head... He had given Lucy a lot of love... And he still had so much more...

Now they were walking down the busy streets of Magnolia, hand in hand. Apparently many of the townsfolk had had the same views of their guildmates, as they were constantly getting cheers and congratulations as people saw them together.

"About time the two of you got together!" said the saleswoman of Lucy's favorite coffee shop when they stepped in for a quick snack on the way to the guild. The old woman was very fond of Lucy, who often came in to ask her opinion of the latest chapter she had written for her novel. Lucy blushed and Natsu grinned as he hugged her tightly.

"It was my bad. I had to get my act together," the slayer grinned as they paid for their food before heading out the door. "Don't worry, I'll treat her right!"

The happily ate their food as they continued on their way to the guildhall, content to take their time. Things were bound to get rowdy the moment they stepped through the front doors, and it was nice to have this peace beforehand.

"Well... Here we go!" said Natsu as he put his hand on the front door of the guild. He couldn't help the huge grin as he looked at Lucy's blushing face. He took her hand and pushed the door open...

"WAY TO GO NATSU!"

It felt like a physical blow as the guild erupted with noise. Everyone in the guild was on their feet cheering as the new couple walked into the guild. Natsu reddened a little at all the attention... Fairy Tail really was like a giant family...a giant...embarrassing family...

"Finally!"

"So happy for you two!"

"You treat her right Natsu!"

"Lucy you two are so cute together!"

"Let's celebrate!"

Everyone swarmed around them. The women of the guild were giggling and hugging Lucy, while Natsu was constantly being slapped on the back by all the men. While it was indeed embarassing, they knew that everyone was just happy for them. Natsu grinned as Gray came up and fist-bumped him.

"Everyone's proud of you man," said the ice mage. "Just take care of her ok?"

"You know I will," said Natsu, his gaze softening as he looked at Lucy... She was blushing as the other girls marveled over the little golden dragon on her guild mark. Almost as if she sensed his eyes on her she looked up at him and smiled. The fire slayer's heart melted and he returned the smile, filled to the brim with love for the blonde woman.

His was completely and utterly happy now... All because of her...

**The End**


	28. News Update 6

p style="text-align: center;"strongHello darlings!/strong/p  
>p style="text-align: center;"strongJust thought I'd give yal'll all quick update!strong/p  
>p style="text-align: center;"strongi just posted the the first chapter for the first sequel to Understanding My Heart!strong/p  
>p style="text-align: center;"strongA Job to Rescue! Gajeel?strong/p  
>p style="text-align: center;"strong I'm so excited for you guys to read it! I think it's going to be very fun to write! I'll also still be working on my other fic as well, Trial Testing!strong/p  
>p style="text-align: center;"strongIf you're interested go ahead and check out the new fic!strong/p  
>p style="text-align: center;"strongMuch lovestrong/p  
>p style="text-align: center;"strongSabinastrong/p 


	29. Request!

**Hello dearies!**

**I have a couple of things that I'd like to say regarding my fic! :) **

**I'm thinking of writing a little future epilogue for this fic...I've noticed that some of you have expressed interest in hearing what happens to them in the future...*wink* So if you'd like me to write an epilogue comment and let me know!**

**SECONDLY!**

**I would absolutely LOVE to see some art of scenes from this fic...but I am absolutely terrible at drawing people... I just couldn't do it justice... So! I'd like to see if any of you lovely readers would want to submit art for this fic! I plan on setting up a Deviantart and possibly posting my fic there as well, and any submitted art would be posted along with credit for the artist! I'd also be willing to write a one-shot of your choice should you desire it! **

**I'm doing this so I can get back into my writing frame of mine and cause I'm craving some NaLu love!**  
><strong>Let me know what you guys think!<strong>

**Much love**

**Sabina**


	30. Epilogue

**Hello my dearies!**

**Well here it is! The Epilogue I promised! I had fun writing this cause I was in a super sappy mood... I really think that ya'll will enjoy it!**

**That being said... I would like to address something...**

**I LOVE getting reviews from you guys. I really do. I love hearing your input and hearing suggestions! But... Today I read a review that...w****ell it really hurt my pride as an author... I understand that my writing isn't perfect and that I have a lot of room to improve... But the review that I read today really hurt my feelings... It wasn't the criticism that the person offered. I am open to criticism and welcome it so that I can improve... It was the manner in which they presented it... It felt like they truly wanted to hurt me with their words and I admit I was a little wounded... But I won't let that stop me from writing the way I do. I don't believe that my writing is "awful", and I will continue to write in the manner that I have. It is my goal to paint a picture for you, my readers, and maybe touch your hearts in the same way that your encouragement and praise has touched mine... I can't thank you enough for all the support you've given me... I treasure each and every one of you and I hope that all of you are blessed with the same feeling of happiness that I get whenever I read one of your sweet reviews... To the person who posted such a bitter review, I thank you for your honesty. I understand that I tend to ramble in these pre-chapter blurbs. I just have so much that I want to say to you readers, because I feel like I can confide my thoughts to you. I want to share little bits of my life with yours so you can get a better feel for my writing. I don't know why you felt the need to be so rude in your review...but I still thank you for it nonetheless. **

**Thank you so much to all my readers. I love each and every one of you. **

**Much love**

**Sabina**

* * *

><p><strong>Ten Years Later...<strong>

"Mommy, look! I can make fire!" said the little blonde boy, running over to his mother. He was about seven years old, and had wavy blonde hair and brown eyes that he had inherited from his mother. The woman beamed at her child as he held up his hands, which were filled with red-gold flames. His cheeks were pink from the exertion of using his magic at such a young age, but the delight on his face was clear.

"Oh honey those are beautiful! Why don't you go show daddy?" said the woman lovingly, patting her son on the head and smiling as he bounded out the front door of their little home, the scale patterned scarf around his neck trailing out behind him. She hummed happily as she carried out a basket of clothes to the line outside, the wind blowing her long blonde hair out behind her.

"Daddy, Layla! Look what I can do!" shouted the young boy, running over to his father, who was sitting by the little pond by the house with the boy's twin. She was sitting in her father's lap while he fished, clinging on to the little canine spirit in her arms and marveling at the pretty flames her brother held. Her hair was a perfect match to her father's, a light pink. Her eyes though were the same as her brother's.

"Igneel that's so cool!" exclaimed Layla, while their father beamed with pride.

"Wow... Great job! Those look delicious!" said the man, leaning forward and slurping up the flames. Igneel pouted and his sister giggled. The woman smiled warmly at her husband and children as she hung up the washing in the warm sunlight. When she had finished she walked over to the blue feline curled up on a large rock near the pond and sat next to him, absentmindedly stroking his soft fur. The little cat purred happily and climbed into her lap.

"They're growing up fast, aren't they Lucy?" said the little cat, watching as the little boy tried and failed to push his father into the water. Layla had gotten up from his lap and was laughing while her little spirit sat on her head. She had been able to tap into her magic just a few days previously, and had been rewarded with a silver key her father had gone out and bought for her. Lucy nodded slowly as she watched her husband with their children, her smile never wavering.

"They really are Happy... I'm just glad Layla inherited my magic rather than Natsu's. A young lady doesn't need to be put through the kind of training he'd make her do," she said, and the two of them laughed. Natsu had gotten to his feet and was chasing his young son around the pond's edge, Igneel yelling in delight when he was caught.

"I gotcha now! Know how to defeat fire? You dunk it in water!" yelled Natsu, scooping up Layla as well and leaping into the pond. The children laughed and squealed as they swam back to shore, their father pretending to be a water monster and chasing them. Lucy shook her head and got up, Happy laughing as he hovered by her head. She marched over to the pond's edge and stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at her husband.

"Natsu! I just did the kids' clothes this morning! Now they've already gotten one change of clothes dirty!" she said, trying to contain the grin that threatened to show on her lips. Her husband cheekily smiled as he exited the pond, shaking his head to get rid of some of the water.

"I'm sorry Luce... I'll help with clothes next time," he said, trying to look chastened as she raised an eyebrow at him. Lucy was having difficulty not laughing as she spoke.

"That's what you said last time Natsu. It's funny how Gray always needs your help whenever there's laundry or chores to be done..." she said sternly, earning a wince from her husband. She shrieked as he leapt forward and scooped her into his damp arms, peppering her face with kisses as their children made sounds of disgust. Lucy couldn't help it as her annoyance melted away and the little family laughed in the brilliant sunshine.

"Daddy! Since Igneel and I can both do magic now does that mean we can join the guild?" asked Layla excitedly, picking up her little spirit again and clutching him tightly. Natsu's exaggerated thoughtful expression made Lucy and Happy giggle as the children waited with baited breath. Finally after a sufficiently suspenseful time Natsu smiled at his children.

"Of course you can. No difficult missions till you've practiced your magic more though!" he said, causing the twins to shout in delight and hug his legs tightly. Lucy's heart melted at the loving expression on his face as he looked down at their two beautiful children. He really had become an excellent father...

"Come on everyone, let's go in and have dinner," said Lucy, taking her daughter's hand and leading the little family inside their cozy little house. The children ran ahead to the kitchen and began arguing over what they wanted for dinner, egged on by a mischievous Happy. Lucy stopped Natsu just outside the kitchen, taking his hand and holding it. He gave her a puzzled look as he saw the faint tears shining in the corners of her eyes.

"Luce? What's wrong? Are you still upset about the pond thing?" he asked, sounding a little worried. Lucy shook her head and smiled at him, her heart feeling like it was going to burst.

"No... I was just thinking... About how we got here... To having this wonderful home and children..." she said, her voice breaking a little. Natsu's expression softened and he pulled her into his arms. Tears of happiness spilled from Lucy's eyes as he held her, stroking her back gently as she calmed down.

"It's been quite the journey..." said Natsu gently, kissing her cheek and wiping the tears from her eyes. She nodded, hiccuping slightly as she smiled. "And it's only going to get better..." he added, his hand sliding down to rest on her gently bulging belly. Lucy smiled and placed her hand over his, the golden dragon on her guildmark seeming to glimmer faintly, almost as if it could sense the new life slowly growing within her... Natsu's other hand cupped her face as he leaned in and kissed her. It was a kiss filled with love, a kiss shared between two soulmates who had years of happiness together but so many more left to enjoy... After what seemed like an eternity they broke apart, Natsu smiling as Lucy's eyes shone with happiness.

"Yes... But I don't know how perfect can get any better..."


End file.
